Workers parade, protest to celebrate Labor Day

More than 60,000 western Pennsylvania workers marched through Downtown Pittsburgh on Monday,…

Children at Labor Day Parade wave to onlookers

Kenny Ong, Visual Editor

More than 60,000 western Pennsylvania workers marched through Downtown Pittsburgh on Monday, shattering the quiet emptiness of the city in a sea of multicolored shirts, signs and vehicles that stretched from the Consol Energy Center to the United Steelworkers Building on the Boulevard of the Allies.

Among those in attendance were American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Richard Bloomingdale, United States Sen. Bob Casey, Reps. Mike Doyle and Mark Critz, Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

The large number of Democratic politicians attending reflected the politically charged atmosphere of the parade. With the Democratic National Convention beginning Tuesday in Charlotte, N. C., signifying the start of the home stretch of the presidential race, Democrats were out in full force showing their support for unionized labor.

“Its always political, especially during an election year” said Jason Crosby, a member of the United Steelworkers Union.

Crosby has been a part of the union for 16 years, and his father, who retired a little more than a year ago, was a member for 46 years.

Crosby’s 13-year-old stepson Evan Crosby came out to the parade as well and helped rally spirits with a call-and-response chant.

“I made it up,” Evan Crosby said. “We unite, together we fight.”

Rhetoric like this saturated the parade from its outset.

On Centre Avenue and Washington Place — the official stepping-off point for the parade — members of the anti-abortion organization Face the Truth held large signs depicting graphic images of aborted fetuses and signs saying “Unions support abortion.”

Marchers responded with shouts of “shame on you” and “there are children here.”

Members of the United Steelworkers Union made their voices heard as well with a float bearing the slogan, “We don’t go to the office, we build it.” Sparks trailed its progress as union members in full work gear took blowtorches to a support beam on the float, simulating one of the processes of construction work.

According to Marty Marks, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Labor Council, discourse is just a part of the atmosphere.

“We are a non-partisan crowd,” he said. “But you can’t stop workers from expressing their opinion.”

The Allegheny County Labor Council sponsored the parade and publicly endorsed the Obama campaign as well as several other Democratic state and federal congressional candidates.

ACLC President Jack Shea said most union members vote Democrat.

“Our members and their families are excited about getting President Obama re-elected,” Shea said.

Marks said Pittsburgh has a storied history of union activity, is one of the few cities that houses an international union headquarters and hosts one of the biggest Labor Day parades in the country.

He said Pittsburgh benefits from such a high density of unionized workers and posited that when unionized workers demand higher salaries, the cost of labor goes up, and then the wages in an entire sector can go up.

“Unions help raise wages for everyone,” Marks said.

Sam Williamson, assistant director of the Service Employees International Union, said his union is focused on advocating for workers on a national level.

SEIU members wore purple T-shirts with “Obama” and the Occupy slogan “We are the 99 percent” on their backs.

“We stand as one,” Williamson said.