Thousands of pro-union protesters marched in California for better jobs and to tax the rich…
And, no to plutocracy.
(Daily News)
FOX News reported:
Thousands of union leaders and workers marched through the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, vowing and shouting that they would fight for organized labor in California after recent union setbacks in Wisconsin.
Between 5,000 and 8,000 people, led by a group of Teamsters and including nurses, electricians, teachers and longshoremen, marched in the afternoon protest that began at Staples Center and ended with a rally at Pershing Square, according to police estimates.
One of several rallies around the country, the downtown event had some uniquely Hollywood elements — rallying workers included unionized actors and screenwriters.
The marchers, many of whom were brought in by school bus from as far away as San Diego, carried signs reading “Stop the war on workers” and “We stand with Wisconsin workers.”
Speakers including Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa, Maria Elena Durazo from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and Fire Fighters of Wisconsin President Mahlon Mitchell roused the crowd at the rally, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Tom Morello, guitarist for the band Rage Against the Machine, performed.
Mahlon shouted at the rally that the battle in Wisconsin is a “direct attack” on all unions and the entire American middle class.
“An injury to one is an injury to all!” he shouted, and warned that similar policies could be instituted in cash-strapped California.
The union protesters want “corporatists” and billionaires to pay their share… It’s as if they have no idea who creates the jobs in this country? (Daily News)
Los Angeles County has a 12.3% unemployment rate. Taxing the rich won’t likely create any jobs.
UPDATE: A reader who wants to remain anonymous sent a copy of the flyer they were handing out for the protest today.
He added this:
I’m a teacher in LAUSD, and I’m always a bit miffed at how our union uses my dues for political reasons, but this one takes the cake.
They want to restore funding? We already spend the most money per pupil in the world, and have more dropouts and have lower scores than some 3rd world countries.
They want to save jobs? Scott walker saved thousands of jobs by limiting collective bargaining. Sounds like union bosses want to save THEIR jobs.
The last bullet was the real smoker? FORCE the rich to pay their fair share?
Doesn’t the top 10 percent of wage earners already pay 30-50% of the taxes? Doesn’t the bottom 60% pay no taxes at all?
If they want to be fair, make everyone pay 15% of their income.
I don’t know what communist wrote this flyer, but this is the kind of class warfare that the unions are promoting to their uninformed throngs. What Wisconsin shows is that the govt can better handle their budget and keep more workers without unions trying to run the show.
We are going through another set of layoffs, which is why they are rallying. The problem is not just the teachers, but all the unionized school district workers that come in and only work during school hours, work at half or quarter speed.
I could go on and on, but I have to get back to work now.
Do these socialists really think their “tax the rich” agenda is going to catch on? Really?
