Fighting mood opens labor march

A fighting mood opened the annual Detroit Labor Day march Sept. 4.

WW photo: Cheryl LaBash

Hundreds of Detroit teachers on strike against pay and benefit cuts made up the front of the march, stretching across the wide Woodward Avenue thoroughfare.

Next, the Northwest flight attendants—some in lime green T-shirts, others in tailored uniforms—pledged to create CHAOS (Create Havoc Around Our System) in order to challenge the bankrupt air carrier’s attempt to impose pay and benefit cuts.

Utility workers, their truck air horns blaring, demanded Detroit Energy keep neighborhood payment and service centers open.

Home-daycare workers organizing for a living wage marched with their children.

And, for the first time, the Centro Obrero de Detroit/Workers Center of Detroit marched.

Contingent after contingent of United Auto Workers members, with banners identifying their locals, streamed into downtown during the two-hour long march.

Many thousands of these workers, mostly African American and many women, chanted support for their unions.

Yet aside from the contingents mentioned, most were methodically organized to focus on the mid-term elections. Printed signs and t-shirts had slogans like “I am union and I vote.” A few small, printed fans urged people to vote “no” on racist Proposal 2, which threatens to eliminate affirmative action. However, no union contingents raised banners or printed signs against the dangerous and deceptively worded ballot proposal that is a key issue in the election.

The strong anti-war sentiment among the workers did come to the fore. Many joined in chanting “Money for our cities, not for war” and “Bring the troops home, now!” and picked up anti-war signs to carry through the march.

The Stop the War Slate and Green Party candidates distributed anti-war campaign literature exposing the little-known pro-war and anti-immigrant voting record of Demo cratic Party incumbent Debbie Stabenow. To volunteer for the Stop the War campaign, go to stopthewarslate.org, mecawi.org or migreens.org.