USA Chicago: Union members rally for collective bargaining rights

More than five thousand union members from three different states gathered in Daley Plaza to fight for bargaining rights and to show solidarity. There has been an attack on unions and bargaining rights in several states.

Participants claim both private sector employers and state governments are eroding the standard of living of working people by wage roll backs and cuts to benefits. One demonstrator said:"We're going to do what most Americans should to do. Stand up for your rights; stand up for what is right. It's the American people and it's the unions here that made the middle class in our country, and we need to protect that,"

The rally was attended by Wisconsin public workers. Many state workers were stripped of collective bargaining rights by Governor Scott WalkerScott Walker's controversial Budget Repair Bill.

State Senator Chris Larson (D-WI) said at the rally: "The best part is that this is just getting started. This is what you guys have become a part of, stepping out today. This is the beginning of a movement."

The President of the Wisconsin Firefighter Union likened the state of labor in the United States to a house on fire. Workers who attended the rally said that as long as collective bargaining is targeted, they will continue to show their solidarity and continue their fight.

Organised working people in the U.S. are beginning to wake up and to realise that there is a concerted attempt to weaken their power. While profits soar in many companies wages stagnate or fall. Meanwhile increasing costs for gas and other goods will make it more difficult to have a decent standard of living for many workers and their families.