The Million Worker March: October 17

Union members and union supporters are scheduled to gather from all over the country in Washington, DC, for the “Million Worker March.”  This event will be held on Sunday, October 17, which is a change from its original date of a day earlier.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 10 originally called for this event. The purpose is very straightforward: gather as many union supporters as possible to call attention to the needs of working people in this country and to major reforms called for by the labor movement.  Primary among these reforms is universal healthcare.  Additional major reforms being called for are implementation of living wage laws and an end to NAFTA and other “Free Trade” agreements. 

A “Million Worker March” could have the same sort of impact as other national marches with “million” in the name.  Both the “Million Man March” (for unity among African-American men) and the “Million Mom March” (endorsing common-sense gun control) still remain part of the national debate and brought considerable attention to their respective issues.  Attention from these marches should give labor supporters reason to hope that a “Million Worker March” could bring similar national attention to the needs of working people and their families.  If nothing else, a march like this could remind politicians and government officials (who often seem to give little thought to labor issues) that unions still carry the potential to mobilize large groups of motivated and informed members.

But the march does not have the support of all unions.  In fact, the umbrella group of many unions, the AFL-CIO, has reportedly denounced the event and refused to endorse it.  The march’s website includes a letter sent by the organizers to the AFL-CIO where they summarize a directive from Marilyn Sneiderman, the Director of the Field Mobilization Department.  According to the organizers, this directive said that the AFL-CIO was not willing to act on the aims of the march and was discouraging the organizers from moving forward with the march.

Both the march’s website and “The New Standard” September 10 online edition (www.newstandardnews.net) report that the AFL-CIO’s main reason for not supporting the event is because they believe that there should be no redirection of union resources away from the defeat of George Bush in the November presidential election.  Leaders of the union see the election of John Kerry over Bush as a goal so important that there is not enough time or energy right now to focus on anything else.

Organizers of the “Million Worker March” include a rebuttal to the AFL-CIO’s position on the website.  Basically, their position states that workers in this country are “under siege,” and that attention is needed now to the needs of workers and their families.  They also take the position that the election of John Kerry alone will not guarantee that labor issues are addressed. Although the organizers in no way endorse Bush, they do seem to be endorsing a perspective that advancing the needs of labor in this country needs to be done quickly and will require more than just a new president.

One of the difficult things about looking at this debate is that both sides do have a point.  Leaders of the AFL-CIO see that the defeat of what is very likely the most labor-unfriendly administration in modern history will do more to advance the rights of workers than any other single step that could be accomplished in the next two months.  It is also worth noting that the union has not criticized entirely the idea of a march for workers but has only really criticized the timing.

But the march organizers do make a strong point that something needs to be done and needs to be done now to advance reforms that are needed if workers in this country are going to make any progress.  And it should not be overlooked that at that same time information came out about the march there were news stories throughout the country about how insurance premiums have escalated by double-digit percentages for the fourth year in a row.  If the idea of universal healthcare does not become a more prominent part of the national debate, then there is more and more danger that the majority of working people will be forced out of their insurance plans by skyrocketing costs.  From the perspective of the October march, a million people (or as close to a million as they can get) all walking and shouting together may be just the alarm that is needed to wake up the country.

If you are interested in joining the march, updated information can be obtained from the website (www.millionworkermarch.org).  The website also lists the address of the march’s committee as ILWU, Local 10; 400 North Point; San Francisco, CA 94133 and the phone number given is 415-771-2028.  There are also march representatives identified for several states but none were listed for Pennsylvania at the time this article goes to press.

- Daniel Marston