Human Wave Hits Los Angeles

By Vivian Rothstein, Deputy Director, LAANE

A human wave of 10,000 marchers flooded through downtown Los Angeles last Saturday morning. Truck drivers and nurses, janitors and firefighters, electricians, home care aides and hotel banquet servers walked, sometimes 20 across, in a spirit of pride and defiance. Everyone was exhilarated to see the size of the crowd and to spend a chilly Saturday morning marching to protect their basic standard of living.

This is California’s response to the Republican earthquake in Wisconsin that threatens to strip public employees of their right to a collective voice on the job. No doubt about it, Wisconsin is the first tremor of an effort to ultimately weaken the voice of all of America’s working families. And that threat was very evident at Saturday’s march, with many placards calling for an end to the “War on Workers.”

The outcome of the Wisconsin earthquake could include the destruction of livable wages, full family health coverage, pension benefits and other reforms that were won by working people over the past 30 years. Saturday’s marchers knew we were there to protect not only our own families but our co-workers and community members.

“America is a Union” declared one sign, reminding us that our nation is all about joining our voices for the common good and raising each other up in the process. I was proud to be there.