Activists gather in downtown Chicago at Labor Day rally
It was clearly a union event as 350 -500 people assembled on Labor Day, September 5, 2011, in Grant Park and CTU was there, although you couldn’t really tell because they dressed, you know, like teachers. Besides the Chicago Teachers Union, others present were the SEIU Health Care Workers, such as Earnestine Smith, United Electrical Workers, Women United, United Steel Workers, Stand Up Chicago with Pastor Steven Hunley, United Letter Carriers, United Electrical Workers, and Women of Steel.
Chicago Teachers Union organizing department chief Norine Gutekanst with teachers during the Labor Day rally. Substance photo by Jean Schwab.Among the speakers were Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Rainbow/Push, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Jerry Greenfield, co-founder along with Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.
As the Chicago Sun Times states: ” negotiation on a free-trade agreement in the Pacific Rim were the focus of the rally … where union leaders and other activists called for a fair deal or no deal if it jeopardizes jobs, health and the environment…"
The participants in the rally said that they do not want to see an agreement that mirrors the North American Free Trade Agreement. A growing number of union leaders and activists say we now know that NAFTA has led to job losses in the United States and in other countries, pushed down wages and hurt the environment.
Countries involved in the negotiations include Australia, Brunel, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the U.S. “
There was also a group there protesting the restriction of "access to life -saving generic medicine." Which includes cheaper generic Aids medicines from India which have been going to Africa.
One of the speakers, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, stated that this is the toughest time since 1930. “We must remember where we’ve come from. We now have weekends off, instead of a seven day week, children in school, instead of working in sweatshops and OCEA. All of these were accomplished by organized labor. This wasn’t accomplished by government; it was the hard work of ordinary people. We need organizing and faith to put America back to work — Now."
Jesse Jackson also spoke, he pointed out that without vision we will perish. Right now 6,000 public workers are being laid off. Teachers are being laid off and fired and classes are becoming larger and larger. Twenty-five million are unemployed and looking for jobs, people are losing their homes. We must ask ourselves where is the money ? It is time for a change and we must reinvest in America. It is time to put Americans back to work.
Jackson summed up his message by stating: "Whenever the playing field is even and the rules are public, the goals clear, everyone wins. "
Sonja Reed Smith stated that the impact of trade agreements is that they create a “bill of rights for big companies to trample over our environment” and when countries try to stop them, they can’t because of the agreement. She sited several countries where environmental regulations were ignored such as in Peru where the FDA provisions were undermined and children were found to have lead poisoning because of mining.”
CTU members were at the rally. Cathy Cunningham Yee from Henson Elementary School and Lisa Tacke from Lane Tech High School were among them. They came to “Stand with our brothers and sisters against corporations” and because people are losing their jobs.
Two retired teachers were also in attendance, Lyda Matz and Harold Matz. They came to support the teachers and labor movement. They want more positive recognition for the CTU and retired teachers. Teachers are in a difficult situation because they “don’t know the future, so they are spending less and less. “
Norine Gutekanst of the Chicago Teachers Union stated that it is “Important for labor to get together and stand for labor rights here and in other countries. The Free Trade Agreement will result in more job loss. As a Union we need to attend all of these events and make labor causes our cause.”
By: Dennis Kosuth
Preckwinkle
Thanks for reporting on this event. As a County employee, I find it rich that Preckwinkle wants to thank labor, when all she has done so far is approve cuts that have only hurt the people of Cook County. The County is certainly broke, but what has she done to make sure the corporations who have been making record profits pay their fair share in taxes? Those without jobs and health insurance and homes need services more than ever, and if she cared about labor, she would be fighting to fund these important services, not cutting them.