U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks Sunday at a “Combating Again in opposition to Company Greed” rally on Cambridge Widespread. (Picture: Luciano Cesta)
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders headlined a labor rally Sunday on Cambridge Widespread, punctuating a slate of native and nationwide leaders’ speeches that highlighted unionization and what they described because the greed of firms.
The rally, “The Working Class: Combating Again in opposition to Company Greed,” struck a combative tone and celebrated the latest development of the labor motion in the USA. Effectively over 1,000 individuals attended, by police estimates – some amongst them saying that Sanders was as a lot a draw as displaying assist for the motion.
The Vermont impartial is in his third Senate time period, following 16 years within the U.S. Home of Representatives, and mentioned in April that he hasn’t dominated out a 3rd presidential marketing campaign if Joe Biden doesn’t run for reelection.
“We’re seeing a rebirth of the American commerce union motion from coast to coast,” Sanders instructed the gang. “We’re speaking about blue-collar staff. We’re speaking about white-collar staff. We’re speaking about younger individuals, we’re speaking about older individuals.”
The Worldwide Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Affiliation of Flight Attendants, a part of a union initially referred to as the Communications Employees of America, additionally participated within the rally, and their presidents spoke.
A rally crowd listens to audio system Sunday on Cambridge Widespread. Police estimate that effectively over 1,000 individuals attended. (Picture: Luciano Cesta)
“At this park, there have been plenty of rallies, there have been plenty of rallies for social justice, voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, girl’s rights. And there may be gonna be a hell of much more rallies proper right here,” mentioned Sara Nelson, the president of the AFA-CWA. “However are you aware what connects us all? And are you aware what makes it attainable for us to struggle for our rights? Working individuals’s rights and that’s what we’re right here to speak about at the moment.”
Teamsters president Sean O’Brien highlighted how he thought enterprise leaders similar to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Tesla’s Elon Musk and Starbucks’ Howard Shultz helped the labor motion.
“There has by no means been a extra inspiring time for organized labor and other people to prepare inside their workplaces,” O’Brien mentioned. “Due to these three nitwits and their unhealthy habits, they’re truly serving to us manage, they’re serving to us mobilize. They’re serving to us strategize and so they don’t comprehend it.”
Union organizing and labor motion has been changing into extra seen in Higher Boston. Notably, a number of Starbucks shops not too long ago unionized; one has been on strike for the previous 36 days. Nurses not too long ago went on a 10-month strike at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester.
The Cambridge rally is a part of a sequence of rallies Sanders has attended in assist of the labor motion, with the newest one being in Philadelphia on Saturday.
