Rank-and-file union members rally at City Hall

[Joanne98]

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_15773564




Battling back against the tough economic times, thousands of union members swarmed outside Los Angeles City Hall on Friday, calling on city leaders and politicians to save jobs, create more work and stop outsourcing.

"Today is a national call for good jobs now," said Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

"It starts in L.A., but it's going to make its way all across the United States of America."

The estimated crowd of 5,000 cheered Durazo on, and broke into chants of "We want good jobs now!" Postal carriers, boilermakers, electricians and workers from the construction, carwash, hospitality and movie industries bore signs that read "Paychecks pay the bills" and "We want work."

Both union and city leaders alike touted Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 30/10 Initiative, which would fast-track 12 major mass transit projects for completion in 10 years instead of 30 and create 166,000 construction jobs in a city with a 14 percent unemployment rate. The construction industry alone faces a 40 percent unemployment rate, officials said.

Among them is Kenneth Hermosillo, a 42-year-old sheet metal worker from Torrance who has been unable to find work for a year and a half.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_15773564