Working people filled the Capitol rotunda in St. Paul on Saturday February 24th. Nearly 1,000 union members and allies from across Minnesota joined to rally for protecting their freedom to join together in strong unions to have a voice on the job and pledging to fight corporate attacks against that right. Workers gathered in Saint Paul along with 25,000 people in 28 cities across the nation as part of a collective Working People’s Day of Action.
"This is not the first time unions have stood in the way of rich, powerful interests who would like to keep workers in poverty and in danger, big corporations that would keep our communities from the services they need and the equitable future they deserve," said Mary Cathryn Ricker, executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers and former president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers. "They will learn, there is power in a union and we are here for good.”
The Working Peoples Day of Action is a response to the anti-worker case Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, which was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court Monday February 26th. Corporate elites and extremists are bankrolling Janus. They’ve already rigged the system in their favor, and now they’re out to stack the deck even more by limiting our freedom to speak up for ourselves, our families and our communities.
Working people need to come together in strong unions to protect their right to collectively bargain and to have a voice to fight for equitable pay, affordable health care, quality schools, a secure retirement, and a future for all workers.
“Right now our values are under attack,” said Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. “Right now we’re having to fight for some of our most basic rights … When you try to silence the voices of Americans, those voices only get louder. This is a moment that demands action.”
The Day of Action was hosted by AFSCME, Education Minnesota, SEIU, MAPE, Teamsters, Inter-Faculty Organization, Minnesota Nurses Association, Middle Management Association, Jobs with Justice, MN AFL-CIO, and the Minneapolis and Saint Paul Regional Labor Federations.
View a replay of the event here: Video Replay
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