NEW ORLEANS — Local labor unions were represented Monday celebrating working families at a picnic in City Park hosted by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization, or AFL-CIO.
The organization's 25th annual Labor Day picnic was held at a time when Gallup says more Americans are in support of organized labor.
For the last 24 years Lewis, an operator for Shell Chemical, has been a member of a union.
“The 12 hours, the rotating shifts, the issues you work under, hurricanes it doesn’t matter, we are there,” said Lewis. “The union helps protect the workers, workers’ rights, and more importantly it’s about safety.”
In attendance Monday, were AT&T communications workers who have been on strike since August 16th.
“We’re just trying to get back to work,” said Stephen Edler, President of CWA New Orleans Local 3410. “We are trying to provide service to our customers.”
Edler says with 17,000 employees on the picket line, the holiday holds a bigger meaning this year.
Support for unions is growing.
According to a recent Gallup poll, 70% of Americans approve of labor unions, a data point trending higher than when it hit a low point in 2009.
“Unions are coming back; you know people can only pushed on so far and then they start rebelling,” said Robert ‘Tiger’ Hammond, local president of AFL-CIO. “Wages are going up and benefits are going up.”
Recently, hundreds of University Medical Center Nurses became the first in the state to unionize.
“Tulane professors voted for a union,” he said.
Both Hammond and his members are hoping whoever takes the election in November keeps the working class in mind.
“We need the truth, and we need honesty right now,” said Lewis. “That is a very hard thing. We need our elected officials to understand us and represent us. Understand you have working people out here that just want to work, provide for their families, and go home safe.”
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