Pro-union demonstrators rally at Los Angeles City Hall

A boisterous crowd of pro-union demonstrators gathered on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday, loudly voicing support for unionized workers in Wisconsin and expressing concern that the perennially forceful labor movement in California could one day face a similar crisis.

“If it can happen in Wisconsin, it can happen anywhere,” said Pasquale Gazillo, a merchant marine and member of the Marine Firemen’s Union, referring to Wisconsin’s long history as a union stronghold. “States like that, they’re the ones that started the eight-hour work day and made sure workers got paid if they got sick. The Republicans are pushing and if that state falls, the rest of the country is going to be in trouble. This could set workers in this country back 100 years, even more.”

For roughly two weeks, Wisconsin protesters and politicians have been in a standoff over the governor's proposal to strip most public employees of their collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says the state is broke and must make drastic spending cuts. Unions say Republican leaders are trying to wipe them out.

The pro-union demonstration in Los Angeles was one of many held throughout the nation Saturday.

Among those in attendance was retired Teamster Larry McKinney, who spoke of how thankful he was to have had a long career laying pipe and helping build public infrastructure in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Describing himself as “working class,” he said that because he was a union member, he and his wife were able to raise two children and enjoy retirement without too much worry.

McKinney said unions in Wisconsin had compromised enough, and he faulted the governor for refusing to negotiate over collective bargaining rights. “This governor is trying to take away rights that people fought for 60 years ago, and in one swift move,” he said. “He’s just going to trash rights that people bled for? Come on, that’s not right.”

McKinney scanned the crowd, which appeared to be about 2,000 people, and predicted that the battle in Wisconsin could end up being positive for labor. “I think this is going to help the union cause,” he said. “It’s firing people up. If politicians can treat people in a union this way, imagine how they would treat other people without the protection of a union.”

Such hope was a commonly heard theme. Many expressed confidence that the public would end up siding with labor despite concerns that union benefits weigh on government coffers.

“If you want to solve the budget problems, you don’t do it on the backs of working people. You start with taxing the rich,” said Irene Gonzalez, a Los Angeles County probation officer. She said she had just returned from two days of protests at the Wisconsin state house, an experience that filled her with pride. The local labor movement should worry, she said, because California’s massive budget deficit could mean that union rights will eventually be attacked.

“It is going to come to us,” she said. “People need to wake up. If they don’t wake up, by the time they do it is going to be too late. So that is why we are here.” 

-- Kurt Streeter

Comments

[Joe]

Who makes all the profit on oil. It cost almost $4.00. These sound familiar just like the union while the major private sectors are being held hostage by this very rich and overpaid union worker.

[Tammy Smith]

I was at the San Diego rally. We had a great turnout, & the cars that were passing by were honking horns in support. I am in a private sector union, not public, but the Republicans haven't succeeded in turning me against the public unions! The rich caused the economic mess; make them pay for it!

[WendiG]

It's so inspiring to read that, finally, the labour movement in my home State is waking up to the truth of the old adage, "Use it or lose it"
Organized labour needs to continue mobilizing, because a threat to one is always a threat to all..
Equally, it's depressing to read the anti-union diatribes here from people who would not have the leisure to comment here, or the resources, if it wasn't for the hard fought battles that union members succeeded in winning in the past-and hopefully in the future..
Even private sector workers know that the five day work week, the 35-40 hour work week, good wages and benefits all accrue from the union struggle for respect for workers ..

[My opinon means nothing]

What the people who are posting anti-union comments don't realize is this simple fact. Your job is next - no matter what you do. Own or owned. Tag - your it.

[P J Evans]

I read people talking about taxpayers funding the union pensions in Wisconsin.
IN FACT, the union members are funding their own pensions - 5 percent of their paycheck goes to their pensions. (They're not getting public money for that at all.) And they're being paid LESS than if they worked in private industry.

This is just the Big Money guys trying to increase their own pay at teh expense of the little guys - the corporate executives and the politicians and the Wall Street executives that already are multimillionaires and want MORE MORE MORE because having 90 percent of the wealth in the country and controlling the media is just not enough for them.

[Think123]

I see a lot of greedy people rallying for more. What we need is a rally of those of us (taxpayers) who are stuck with paying for their greed. These union robots seem to forget who pays the majority of their salary, medical care and pensions. Yes, they too pay some taxes, so in essence they are partially paying themselves. If so, they can afford to pay more for their health care and pension and stop taking more out of my pocket.

[teacherinLA]

people, people, people...it is not public union worker versus private sector worker - it's middle and lower class versus the wealthy. If you're a private sector worker out of a job, ask yourself, why? Where did your job go? Were you ever expected to compete with third world child labor? Please, focus on the wealth gap that has increased since the 1980s(thank you Reagan) by 30%. Just look at the luxury home market. Houses over a million have increased in value in the past few years. Blame the rich for outsourcing your job, not the public sector unions who are still able to make a decent living. Do not allow the Koch brothers to succeed with their divide and conquer plan to take what's left from the middle class.

[Al]

Why don't we bail out the corporations like GM and blame the working class? Wait a minute, that already happened.

[Lois Arkin]

I was at the rally, and I would say there were at least 5,000. I'll bet the mainstream media didn't even get there till it was half broken up already! I went around the entire perimeter of the event a couple of times and saw no TV media until the rally was over and people were leaving. Watch the blogs. I expect they'll have a lot more reporting on a very exciting and energizing event.

But the larger issue of Wisconsin's governor trying to bust the unions will undoubtedly work in favor of the unions, because it won't only be the unions that will fight back: all democratic and progressive movements will come together to in this struggle: women's rights, civil rights, peace activists, environmental activists. Extremists on the right--or should I say you early last century folks--ain't seen nothing yet. Hopefully, reason will overtake you, and we will all begin to change our wasteful ways, change the way we live, learn to be more frugal and more caring of one another, learn to create healthier more sustainable communities, learn how to stop name calling and blaming and complaining, learn how to chip in and demonstrate the change in a voluntary way before we are forced to change by an ever approaching new fascism.

[Francesca]

In response to "smoon" who stated that teachers are way overpaid, have an easy job, get excessive vacation, and want to retire with a full pension at 50.

Obviously Smoon has an axe to grind with education and teachers. His/her ignorance of the teaching profession is astounding. Having been a teacher at one time (as well as my husband and my sister both having been teachers for 15+ years before leaving the profession) I can attest that it is one of the most time encompassing jobs there is. Teachers spend an enormous amount of time on their curriculum, student learning outcomes, daily/weekly lesson plans (visuals, handouts, powerpoints), creating exams (very time intensive) and grading. There is no such thing as being off like a banker at 3pm. Teachers work every evening after dinner, sometimes until they retire to bed. They work on weekends.

Teachers do not get a 3 month summer vacation with pay for not working. That time off is sometimes optional and sometimes not (sometimes we are able to teach summer school if it is offered - funds available, location available, etc). When we are "off" for the summer it is because there is no school to teach. However, our paychecks are delivered over the summer because the monies have been deducted all year from our paychecks to cover the cost of the summer paychecks. There is no free ride.

The median salary for teachers is $40-45k. California is on par with NY, CT, PA and AK. In California, $60k is considered a high salary for a teacher. In Victoria, Australia, teachers there start at $57k and earn upwards of $90k. Teachers there and in other locations, e.g. Germany, France, etc are highly regarded and respected (much like physicians or pharmacists are here in the US). A teacher with 10 years in gets about 3 weeks of vacation a year.

"SMOON", Teachers don't expect to retire at 50. They expect to retire at 65, same as everyone else. Their medical benefits won't kick in until then and so they must work or pay for their medical benefits until they retire. Most elect to continue working unless they become seriously ill or too disabled.

Unions have brought EVERYONE a 40 hour workweek, 8 hour day, workplace safety, child labor laws. Union members pay their own union dues (not the taxpayers as I've often heard incorrectly stated). The right to collective bargain was signed into law by JFK. Understand that this attempt to end collective bargaining is class warfare. It is not just an attack on unions themselves but on all working people. Returning control to the politicians who are owned by their corporate cronies will eliminate the protections that have been given to you by those in the union who have fought hard to bring those rights to all working folks. Stop drinking the tea, let the hate go, open your eyes, and join in solidarity with all your working brothers and sisters to fight against this class warfare.

[Brooks]

I was there. I saw no thugs. All the thugs are in Wisconsin giving public money to their GOPhonies employers and trying to obfuscate the issue by laying the deficit on the back of school teachers and other public servants.

[Tim McHugh]

As an absolute minimum, human beings should have all the rights and privileges that money currently enjoys.

[Keir Burch]

And yet cali voted in more dems.....go figure...

[Joe Gallagher]

The Wisconsin public unions have agreed to pay more for their benefits and health insurance, as well as wage restraints. They are doing their share. Don't let Wall Street plus the corporate media drive a wedge between middle class union workers and middle class non-union members. Their strategy is to divide and conquer. Thanks for reading this.

[common sense]

It's so simple - we are broke and don't have money. You will have to pay for your own benefits.
Why is it so difficult to understand that?

[kshoe1]

fedpvoter - "I will not receive social security, which, is also subsidized by the government a taxpayers like me. The blue collar worker like me did not cause the economy to break."

You're right, you won't receive social security. You will receive a taxpayer funded pension that most likely will provide you 5 times the amount social security provides to the average worker. And you contributed less to receive it.

What's further troubling is that you believe you subsidize social security recipients, WRONG. You can't receive social security, so you don't pay social security.

[JJ M]

Lotta anti-union sentiment here!
You know who has strong opinions against unions?
People who are PAID to.
But let's pretend not all the anti-union posts are paid. Who ELSE resents unions? The people who sold themselves out two or three decades ago and now have nothing to show for their short sightedness.
Who deserves good working conditions, decent pay, and a secure retirement?
Everyone.
Who has it?
Unions members: who have been working together diligently for years like ants, while the grasshoppers took the quick and easy short term solutions. Unions have had to fight for everything they have. What's good for Union workers is good for the country because now that so much of our work has been outsourced they are one of the last pillars of the economy.
Hate the unions? Too bad, cuz unless you're a billionaire, they're the only ones on your side.

[steve rodriguez]

In a changing world and global economy, unions have become obsolete!

[windym]

Wisconsin is targeting public unions, not private ones. No one can get away from public unions once they take root. To all you private union guys, your interests do not lie with public unions either. The public unions are ruining our schools, taking all the tax money for their pensions and you must stand with all of us taxpayers.

[JayCeezy]

Everybody wants somebody else to pick up the check. Public employee union members take far more out of the system and society than they ever put in.

Face it, in Los Angeles, NY and every other city, the unions renegotiated when times were good and are sitting on their hands when times are bad. We have weak leaders who did not negotiate the best deal for the taxpaying citizens, so what? Time for union members to start paying for their retirement and health care, like the rest of us.

[Proud Wisconsinite]

It's easy to comment on the story out in LA. You have your prespective on the story and are entitled to it. But I live in Madison, WI and the truth of this bill is far worse than the attack on union workers. Governor Walker came into office with a surplus of millions of dollars and gave all of it away with tax cuts to corporations within a few weeks of becoming Governor. Then came this "budget repair bill" that would fix the deficit that didn't exist before he came along. Part of this bill is union busting, plain and simple. The union workers have already agreed to the concessions but they want to keep their collective bargaining rights. This bill also gives the Governor control of Medicaid. What does that have to do with budget repair? Nothing, but the governor can then decide who gets approved for healthcare. Also power plants in the state could be sold with out any bids. Again, what does this have to do with budget repair? The Koch Brothers own energy companies, doesn't that seem interesting. If this bill passes, peoples rights would be taken away, health care could be denied and energy costs could skyrocket! These are some scary times in Wisconsin but also so inspiring when looking at the daily protests. 100,000 people today sang with Peter Yarrow and listened to Bradley Whitford. I have never been so inspired and proud to be from this city, this state, this country.

[Robert]

If you want a middle class, support unions. That is what built the middle class in America. If you want a Tiffany economy, with no unions and no protections for workers, realize that without a middle class, there will be nobody to buy the products and services that keep our economy afloat. Choice is yours. The non-union past is filled with brutal exploitation and suppression of employees; if you think that kind of future will be somehow magically no longer possible, then you place your future and your children in jeopardy. You non-union employees would do better by joining unions and rejecting the current attacks on union rights to bargain collectively.

[ElSabio]

Take out your history books. Unions helped make this country great. At the present time, it is these very same people who are spending their hard earned money to sustain the unstable economy we presently have. Take this away, and our economy will collapse for sure. Airline industry has posted record profits. Why don't they use some of those profits to help out? Same goes for the oil companies who have billions of dollars in profits. The super rich should also be taxed more to help bail us out also. How about the banks? They were the ones who got us into this mess.

[James Hoffa]

Unions are corrupt. They promote themselves by fooling there members into thinking without them their jobs would be gone or benefits expire.
But it is with them that this will occur. Unsustainable means eventually promised pensions will have no money and government can not bail them out.
Say hello to poverty if you get stuck in over promised public union plans that go bust.

[hairy carrion]

The insensitivity is right here in this thread. The ignorance some people have about labor shows how desperately we need good teachers in the public schools.

It's beyond comprehension why people think unions are the enemy. They aren't. And from where I sit, most the nay sayers in this thread know nothing about unions or union history.

The 8 hour workday? Thank the unions. Child labor laws? Thank the unions. Equal pay for women? Thank the unions. Minimum wage laws? Thank the unions. Overtime pay for wage earners? Thank the unions. Work place safety? Thank the unions. For you tea bagging radicals, that Made in USA label on your t-shirts? Union label. Retirement plans and pensions? Again, union. Employer provided health benefits? Unions to thank.

The middle class that is deteriorating thanks to the great bank heist and wall street blunder was established how and why? Because of unions.

Man, it's amazing how stupid people are. The problem isn't unions. The problem is two things: Stupid people and corporate greed.