By JANE LaTOUR

Despite threats of rain, over 1 million marchers trekked to Washington, D.C. on April 25 because more ominous clouds loom over the lives of women.

Thousands of trade unionists mobilized for the trip to stem the continuing erosion of reproductive rights in the United States. Since 1995, over 400 restrictions to abortion have been enacted in the states. Almost 89 percent of all U.S. counties have no abortion provider. Abortion has become increasingly less accessible and less afford- able. For young and poor women in the United States today, it is virtually unavailable.

As the chair of the DC 37 Women’s Committee, Real Estate Employees Local 1219 President Magda DeJesus organized a busload of members to attend the rally.

“The march included people of every age and color,” she said. “People were speaking in different languages, but everyone was sending the same message: ‘Keep your laws off our bodies!’ ”

“I don’t see this march as pro-abortion,” said Susan Peikes, who arrived aboard another bus, which Social Services Employees Union Local 371 sent. “It’s about a woman’s right to choose, which is a very difficult decision.” The march was also about a myriad of other issues concerning access to health care for women and poor people.

Coat hanger memories
For Local 1219 member Warren Welsh, “the abortion rights issue is very important. And it’s important to care about children after they’re born. The social programs we’re not funding will determine the quality of a child’s life. The decision about having a child should be left to the family and more directly, to the woman,” he said.

Whoopie Goldberg was one of many celebrities who marched. “When she held up a coat hanger, she reminded people of the reality of what women had to go through and how a lot of people died,” said Ida Kelly, a member of Clerical-Administrative Employees Local 1549. “I went because women need to show solidarity when the issues pertain to our bodies and our health.”

Municipal Hospital Employees Union Local 420 President Carmen Charles is personally against abortion, but she joined in the rally. “It’s not the government’s place to make that decision for any individual,” she said.

Local 371 Vice President and DC 37 Executive Board member Faye Moore called the demonstration, “one of the most important things I have done for myself and for my sisters since I’ve been in the labor movement. This administration is about repressing women. It doesn’t tolerate progressive views like a woman’s right to choose or the privacy rights of teenage girls.”

Kathy Bidgood was among the Local 371 contingent. “This was one of the most important marches,” she said. “It’s important to me that every woman know if she can financially support a family and have the right to make her own decision.”

Edna Marks-John, a member of Amalgamated Professional Employees Local 154, underscored this point. “I’m a single mother. I brought up my daughter alone. It was very rough. Every issue they raised is important — like jobs! Why shouldn’t we get equal pay with men?”

According to Women’s Rights Coordinator Susan Lander, more than 200 members of AFSCME, DC 37’s national union, participated in the rally. Delegations came from New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and California.

“For every person who was there, there were many more who wanted to be there,” said Ms. Peikes. “It was vast and there was just a terrific feeling that it’s possible to make a change.”