BY ALBINA CEKA
New York City union members gathered in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan for a Labor Day Rally and then marched to Foley Square to stand in solidarity with one another and to honor those who suffered during the 9/11 attack.
Organized by the New York City Central Labor Council, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the “Our City, Our Fight, Our Future” Labor Day Rally and March was described by organizers as an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of NYC’s labor force.
While the rally does traditional spotlight unions and their workers, the platform and attention has been used to shine a light on and educate the public on other issues like the growing presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States or increased violence and control over women’s autonomy.
There were keynote speakers from many different representatives of the unions present like 32BJ SEIU, NYSNA, and TWU. For many participants, the rally was an opportunity to support their unions and to recognize how different struggles facing New Yorkers can be connected.
Rebecca Lurie, a member of several unions, most notably the Professional staff Congress and Carpenters’ union, said that she attended the rally primarily to show her support for the labor movement. “I’m feeling like all of our struggles are interconnected,” Lurie said.
For Lurie the rally was less about a single issue or even a single union’s goals but about showing the connection and community unity of the workers across NYC.
That same sense of unity was shared by Tamoya Norwood, an administrator and organizer at 1199SEIU United Healthcare. “All the unions come together, you know, and show our union pride”, Norwood said. “to show our union force.”
For some workers, being part of the rally was a way to encourage other union workers to become more involved and make their voices heard. Evelyn Lanzo, a member of the Organization for Staff Analysis, said, “Other union members should come out to represent themselves because I’m only one person, and there’s so many of us”