Public Employee Press

The March 1963-2013
Bring the fight back to the communities

Lee Saunders, president of DC 37's parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, spoke at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 24. His remarks:

Good afternoon!

I am proud to represent the men and women of AFSCME, whose work touches families and communities across this country. The working people of America make this nation great, and we believe in this great nation!

In 1963, AFSCME members were part of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Juanita Steele was one of them. Now 81 years old, Sister Steele, a former day-care teacher from New York City, is here today.

Fifty years ago, Sister Steele prayed that the march would change hearts and minds. She listened as Dr. King spoke about the fierce urgency of now.the whirlwinds of change.the new militancy.

And five years later, in 1968, she mourned with all of us when Dr. King was killed in Memphis, where he'd gone to support the sanitation workers of AFSCME Local 1733.

Decades have passed. Times have changed. The new militancy of 1963 changed America and inspired the world. But the promise of democracy has not been made real for all of us:

• The promise is not real for people who work hard and play by the rules, yet struggle to pay the bills.
• The promise is not real for retirees who worked hard all their lives but don't know how they'll make it day to day.
• The promise is not real for students who graduate under so much debt, they wonder if they'll ever climb out of it.