Wave of Demonstrations On April 4th Against Attacks on Working People

[Better Believe It]

Wave of Actions Proclaim ‘We Are One’
by Bill Balderston and Chris Garlock
April 4, 2011

Chanting “we are one!” thousands of activists across the nation marched on Monday—the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The events showed solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and other states “where politicians backed by corporate CEOs are trying to take away the rights for which Dr. King gave his life,” said NAACP President Ben Jealous at the Washington, D.C. rally.

More than 1,000 mobilizations nationally were organized under the “We Are One” umbrella, in which more than a million workers stopped business as usual either at work or after work to join vigils at their workplace, community rallies or marches at statehouses, coordinated by the AFL-CIO and many unions, community, religious and student groups. “We’re putting all employers and all elected officials on notice that we’re mobilizing as we haven’t in decades,” said CWA (Communication Workers of America) President Larry Cohen.

On the West Coast, longshore workers shut down the Port of Oakland in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in the public sector.

Read the full article at:

http://www.labornotes.org/blogs/2011/04/wave-actions-proclaim-we-are-one

[sinkingfeeling]

1. And not a single word from the MSM on any of it.

[Better Believe It]

3. I understand your point but there was some local and national coverage.

Unions Rally, Linking Their Cause to Dr. King
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
April 4, 2011

Labor unions and civil rights groups held hundreds of rallies and teach-ins on Monday to defend collective bargaining and to tie it to the cause the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting for in the days before his death exactly 43 years ago.

The sponsors of the “We Are One” rallies, held in all 50 states, repeatedly noted that when Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968, he was planning to march with 1,300 striking sanitation workers.

The rallies and 175 teach-ins were organized largely to protest the Republican-led efforts in Wisconsin and Ohio to curb bargaining for public employees. The rallies sought to build on the union protests in those states and to warn labor’s adversaries in state capitals and Washington that unions remain an important force. The rallies’ sponsors also said they wanted to protest federal and state budget cuts that they said were hurting the most vulnerable Americans.

“What we are witnessing is nothing but an ideological assault on Dr. King’s vision for a more economically just nation,” said Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Read the full article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/us/05rally.html

[sinkingfeeling]

4. I googled 'we are one rallies' this morning and the NYT article, printed yesterday, was the only

hit I got for anything except progressive internet sites.

[Better Believe It]

5. Local Media Covered Monday Union Rallies; National Media Not So Much

Local Media Covered Monday Union Rallies; National Media Not So Much
by Eric Boehlert
April 5, 2011

There was no one, single huge rally Monday that featured tens of thousands of supporters. Instead, the events were spread out from coast to coast and drew crowds in the hundreds and low thousands. But that kind of grassroots turnout shouldn't have precluded coverage, considering the Beltway press showered attention on last week's Tea Party event that drew "dozens" of supporters to Washington, D.C.

Where the national press dropped the ball yesterday, the local press did a better job reporting on events in their community, as reports came in from all over the country yesterday.

From Oakland:

Thousands of Union Workers Protest Labor Backlash

Madison, WI.:

Several thousand turn out for Capitol rally commemorating MLK assassination

Duluth, MN.:

Duluth rally held to support workers' rights

Saginaw, MI.:

Saginaw unions send a message at Monday's rally: 'We Are One'

Salt Lake City:

Utah rally advances 'We Are One' events supporting labor and civil rights on Monday

To recap: When "dozens" of Tea Party supporters meet for a single protest, it's very big news. But when thousands of union members and their supporters stage hundreds of events nationwide, it's not much of a news story at all.

Read the full article at:

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201104050024

[phantom power]

2. Meanwhile, if >= 2 teabaggers are spotted within 100 yards of each other, It's A Movement!11!1!

:eyes: