Thousands attend downtown L.A. labor rally

[TomCADem]

Source: LA Times

Alarmed by recent union losses in a Wisconsin labor battle, thousands of organized workers marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, vowing to fight a similar fate here in cash-strapped California.

Police estimated between 5,000 and 8,000 people attended the protest, which ended in a packed rally at Pershing Square. The event comes in response to the Wisconsin legislature's approval of a bill this month that curtails the collective bargaining rights of many unions and follows a weeks-long battle.

Marchers cheered speakers such as Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa; Maria Elena Durazo, secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; and Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin bill, which was signed by Republican legislators without the support of Democrats, exempted firefighters and other public safety workers. However, Mitchell told the crowd that his union still opposes the action.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-union-protest-20110327,0,3563121.story?track=rss

[TacticalPeek]

1. Oorah.

:kick:

[intheflow]

2. So good to hear! k&r

[SHRED]

3. I was there

That seems like a low estimate to me.




---

[JDPriestly]

5. Seems low to me to, but there were fewer than 7,500 in Pershing Square.

That is because a lot of marchers did not stick with the march to Pershing Square.

The management of directing marchers into the square could have been better -- for future reference let's suggest that there be people at the entrances directing people to move forward. There were big gaps in the front of the audience in the Square yet some people never made it inside to fill them.

Also, the amplifiers should have been vetted a bit better before the performances. I think more people would have stayed in the square if the sound had been better.

I loved the march. It was a really great experience. I am not a union member although my husband was/is (now retired). The discipline of the union members impressed me so much. There was no way that any sort of provocateur activity could have taken place. That is how ordered and peaceful and well paced the march was.

Excellent job managing the march. Best of all, it was fun.

[JDPriestly]

4. Thanks. I was there and loved every minute. I met the marchers

at about 8th and Figueroa. For the first half-hour or so, I just watched streams of well disciplined but very loud union members as they passed me. It was a thrilling site.

Each group wore a distinctive tea shirt or jacket. The signs were mostly mass produced, but the number of creative, often amusing signs assured me that I was not watching a choreographed parade. It was quite spontaneous once you got into the crowd.

Finally yelling "This is what democracy looks like" at the top of my lungs was liberating in and of itself.

The program afterward in Pershing Square was impressive. Good music (although the amps were too loud for my aging ears in the beginning. The group was quite good but the amps seemed overloaded.). I especially liked the rendition of "This land is your land" but then that is probably due to my generational affiliation, not just the music.

Wonderful crowd. Managed to find my neighbor -- the only person I knew who also attended -- and pick her out of the many thousands. (If you didn't believe in God before you read this post, surely you do now. It's nearly impossible to meet the one person you said you would meet when so many people are around.)

Great day. Can't wait to march again. I'm big on peace but not on peace marches. Seems rather hopeless when you think about human history.

But this worker's rights issue moves me. History shows that individuals can organize and get results.

I hope everyone on DU will watch for the next march in his or her area and go. What great people you will meet.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Thousands march streets of LA for organized labor

Source: Jakarta Post

Thousands march streets of LA for organized labor
The Jakarta Post | Sun, 03/27/2011 2:05 PM | World

Thousands of union leaders and workers marched through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, vowing and shouting that they would fight for organized labor in California after recent union setbacks in Wisconsin.

Police estimated that between 5,000 and 8,000 people attended the Saturday protest that ended with a rally at Pershing Square.

The Los Angeles Times reports that speakers at the rally included Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa, Maria Elena Durazo from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and Fire Fighters of Wisconsin President Mahlon Mitchell.

Mahlon shouted at the rally that the battle in Wisconsin is a "direct attack" on all unions and the entire American middle class. He warned that similar policies could be instituted in cash-strapped California.


Read more: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/27/thousands-march-streets-la-organized-labor.html

[Catherina]

7. It's starting. Rec'd n/t

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. Jakarta Post? nt

[xchrom]

9. recommend

[eowyn_of_rohan]

10. WOW - THANK YOU L.A!!

:yourock: :applause:

[sarcasmo]

11. Labor Party, Workers Party, whatever you want to call it we need it.

Corporations control the right and the left we need a new movement.

[TomCADem]

12. I am pretty sure union members in Wisconsin can tell the difference between Republicans & Democrats

It is a common sock puppet attack to bash Democrats from the left and insist that there is no difference between Democrats and the folks on the extreme right. In the Nevada 2010 senate election, Republicans funded a sock puppet attack to bash Harry Reid from the left and advocate that Hispanics should stay home in order to teach Democrats a lesson for not passing immigration reform. Of course, it turned out that Latinos for Reform was just a sock puppet organization created by Republican operatives to suppress the Hispanic vote.