Union Actions Commemorate King's Legacy Connect to Present Day
BOSTON - Union leaders rallied with some 300 supporters outside the Massachusetts Republican Party headquarters in Boston on Monday April 4th to recall the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and stand in solidarity with public sector workers. It was the 43rd anniversary of King's assassination. The rally was one of over 1,200 events nationwide coordinated by the union sponsored We Are One campaign.
Placards from the state employees union, AFSCME, explained, “In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. died while defending AFSCME sanitation workers in Memphis who were fighting for their dignity and the right to
organize. Today, public service workers are under attack again. It's time for politicians to create jobs instead of playing politics. It's time for all of us to stand with the public service workers who stand on
the frontlines.” Images at the rally recalled scenes from 1968 of African American sanitation workers in Memphis holding “I am a man” placards.
Braving occasional bursts of rain, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, Greater Boston Labor Council, Painters, Teamsters, Teachers, Jobs and Justice, and many more rallied in solidarity with workers in other states
“fighting corporate politicians seeking to destroy collective bargaining” according to the We Are One website.
Seth Peterson, a Boston teacher and local 66 member drew connections to the national economy and world politics. “This isn't a financial crisis, it is a crisis of values. We see it in Wisconsin, Kentucky, Indiana,
New Hampshire and the Middle East. We are a people's movement of all races and religions standing together.”
Sierra Club members also brought their signs to support union workers and raise the demand for green jobs. “Dr. King’s vision of a just, healthy, safe economy and environment is under attack from
corporate-backed politicians nationwide,” said Sierra Club Chapter Director, James McCaffrey. “The Sierra Club is marching today to stand up for the human, civil and environmental rights that Dr. King gave his
life for.”
The Massachusetts Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier in the day, Ira Sills of Segal Roitman LLP joined students at the Northeastern University School of Law to discuss the state of public sector employee rights. “Public sector labor law is like another world. The rules are set state by state. In most states it is unlawful for public employees to strike, leaving unions will little leverage other than to engage the electoral process.”
James Shaw, an NUSL adjunct faculty member, explained, “Collective bargaining is a process where workers can negotiate the wages, benefits, and other conditions of their employment. Without collective bargaining, the only choice workers have is to take it or leave it.”
