Labor Day brings much to celebrate: the progress we’ve made as a workforce, the uplifting of workers across the United States through our Union mission, and of course, the parties and parades that coincide with our day off!
This year, Local 549 will host their own parade.
Please note that the Pittsburgh and Altoona parades have been cancelled due to COVID-19 safety concerns.
With COVID cases back on the rise, we want to remind our members who will be attending the remaining parade to celebrate safely. Wear your masks over your nose and mouth, wash your hands, and practice safe social distancing. With that in mind, come out and join us for a day of fun under the sun!
We are excited to take time to appreciate the positive changes we’ve inspired through collective actions big and small. We celebrate the ways in which we’ve used our collective voice to improve the lives of our union brothers and sisters, and the lives of workers across the country.
Local 549: Erie Labor Day Parade
Monday, September 6, 2021
Parade at 10 A.M.
Line Ups: vehicles at 8:30, and members at 9:30 A.M.
11th and State Street, Erie, PA 16501
Organizing workplaces and joining unions does make a difference. Here are 3 of the biggest challenges we’ve faced in 2020-2021, and how we’ve met them with collective action:
1. Gaining traction on ending wage theft
Achieving a secure, middle-class lifestyle has become increasingly difficult as hourly pay for many workers has either stagnated or, worse, declined, over the past four decades. Forms of wage theft like minimum wage violations cause families who need those earnings the most to fall below the poverty line, and thereby increases reliance on public assistance, costing taxpayers money.
This is why our fight to pass the PRO Act is so important – to make these practices illegal on a federal level. We’ve campaigned fearlessly at the local level to raise awareness of this issue, and we’ve urged our state legislators to take action on our behalf. That’s worth celebrating!
2. Increasing overall union membership
In 2020, the national union membership rate fell at 10.8 percent, which was up by 0.5 percentage point from 2019 data reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Small steps forward lead to big improvements in the long run.
3. Losing one of our own fearless leaders
At 72 years old, with a life dedicated to fighting for workers like us under his belt, Richard Trumka passed away this past August. He had an influential voice that spoke passionately and ambitiously about issues we all hold close to our hearts. He was a boots on the ground man, and we will honor his memory by continuing to fight for the issues that were closest to his heart.
Please consider coming out to join your brothers and sisters in celebration of all of the hard work you, and we as a union, do for the labor movement!