Public Employee Press

LABOR POWER

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

It was a rainy morning Sept. 8, and the weather forecasters warned of more showers.

But the clouds cleared and the sun shone as a lively DC 37 contingent marched up Fifth Avenue with thousands of other unionists in the annual Labor Day Parade.

"It could be raining or snowing, but I don't really care," said Computer Service Technician Richard Anderson. "I'm here for the cause."

The DC 37 faithful - driven by a desire to improve the lot of working families and show support for President Barack Obama - gathered at 11 a.m. on West 46th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues to eat box lunches, socialize and discuss issues facing the labor movement before they headed up the parade route.

"For me, the parade is always a wonderful time for friends and family to get together," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts, who accompanied President Eddie Rodriguez, Secretary Clifford Koppelman and Treasurer Maf Misbah Uddin on the union's float. "But it's also a time to demonstrate our power. Thousands of working-class people called for good jobs, fair contracts, affordable health care and an end to voter suppression as they marched past shops where the wealthy 1 percent pay thousands of dollars for dresses and suits."

"Building Our Future Together" was the theme of this year's march.

Many marchers carried placards with the message "We Are One." Other signs said, "The Wealthy Call It Class War When We Fight Back," "Tax the Rich, Not Our Future," "Stop the War on Workers," and "Corporate Greed Is the Problem."

"This is an important time for us to be united," said Rochelle Mangual, secretary of the Retirees Association of DC 37, who marched up Fifth Avenue and parked herself at the reviewing stand near 64th Street to cheer members and retirees as they passed by. "I sincerely believe this presidential election is almost a life-threatening situation. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are not friends of working people, and certainly not of women. I think these guys would do a lot of damage to our country."

"I am impressed with the diversity and unity on display here," said Vincent Alvarez, president of the city Central Labor Council, who greeted marchers as they passed the reviewing stand.

"The labor movement is energized," said state AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento, who stood alongside Alvarez. "This is important as we approach the presidential election in November."