by Bob Roman
Twenty minutes before the Saturday Noon beginning of the rally in solidarity with Wisconsin workers, a few hundred people had already gathered in the plaza in front of the Thompson Center within the Loop in downtown Chicago. I had just arrived in a clot of a dozen or so off a CTA Blue Line train. For some of them, downtown Chicago was unfamiliar territory, slightly intimidating, and they navigated uncertainly. We emerged from the subway station to find a rally already in progress. To fill the time before the official start, the organizers opened the microphone to everyone wishing to speak.
By the time the rally began, the plaza was nearly full, and organizers announced about 2,000 people were present.
Citizen Action/Illinois Co-Director William McNary served as the rally’s master of ceremonies, and he was one of the more spectacular speakers at the event. AFSCME Council 31 Deputy Director and International Vice President Roberta Lynch was also one of the better speakers, providing details about the ongoing confrontation in Madison, Wisconsin. The crowd cheered her assertion that “Whether you are a member of a labor union or not, we are all members of the labor movement now.”
Other speakers at the rally included U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, Illinois Federation of Labor Secretary Treasurer Tim Drea, Illinois State Senator Don Harmon, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 President Robert Kelly, and Illinois Federation of Teachers President Daniel Montgomery. Moveon.org and the Sierra Club also provided good speakers.
The rally was organized in a matter of days through email, social networks, and personal contacts. It was a passionate rally, very heavily populated by union members instead of just the “usual suspects.” If this level of passion and determination can be sustained beyond the immediate fights in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio, then we will indeed have witnessed the birth of a new movement. Otherwise it is a glorious defeat.
Bob Roman is editor of New Ground, the newsletter of Chicago Democratic Socialists of America.
Roberta Lynch’s quote comes from a Huffington Post article by Robert Creamer.
Filed under: Conferences and Events, Solidarity, Uncategorized Tagged: | Chicago, Wisconsin labor protests, Wisconsin solidarity rallies
I went to the rally on Saturday at the Thompson Center. It was a great experience! I feel and hope this is a real movement. The Democrats version of a “teaparty”. We really need this.
My husband and I were there also. It was a great experience.
I was there with a fellow Teamster to show our support. It was great to see the crowd that gathered on short notice. If we don’t let corp. America ie.. republicans know how we stand they will get what they want, 2 classes, rich and poor only.
[...] by Bob Roman [...]
We’ve created a workers’ rally song “Down On The Line” in support of the hardworking middle class bothers & sisters nationwide. You can listen & download it free here:
http://www.mikekonopka.com/downontheline.htm
Fight on! The Joe Hill Heartlanders
We’ve created a union workers’ rally song “Down On The Line” in support of the hardworking middle class brothers & sisters nationwide. You can listen & download it free here:
http://www.mikekonopka.com/downontheline.htm
Fight on! The Joe Hill Heartlanders
Pass it on!
Free downloads and listens to our new union workers’ rally song “Down On The Line” have crashed our site (temporarily) due to huge demand!
But you can still listen and get a free download of “Down On The Line” by The Joe Hill Hearttlanders here:
http://soundcloud.com/mikekay-1/down-on-the-line-1
Fight On & Pass It On! The Joe Hill Heartlanders