Hundreds on sidelines, thousands march on damp Labor Day

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Rachel Durst held an umbrella over herself and her 3-year-old daughter on Monday as they sat on a blanket on a Grant Street sidewalk watching Pittsburgh's Labor Day parade.

"It's fun," she said. "Coming out makes it worth everybody's while to be getting all wet" while they march, said Durst of Squirrel Hill.

A steady rain fell throughout the three-hour Downtown parade sponsored by the Allegheny County Labor Council, but it didn't dampen spirits among the crowd or local union members who walked from the Civic Arena to the United Steelworkers building on the Boulevard of the Allies.

Spectator turnout was light, about a few hundred people, but Marty Marks, spokesman for the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, estimated that most of the 70,000 people who signed up to march did participate.

Among them were marching bands from several city schools, including Obama 6-12, whose members wore shower caps while they marched. Some of the union members drove floats they made, while others wore matching T-shirts and threw candy for children as they walked. Members of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers passed out pencils.

Dawn Sales, who lives Downtown, said it was nice to see all the unions out together.

"I like to see all the labor that's successful in Pittsburgh," said Sales, a former Steelworkers union member. "I like seeing they're up and running. Maybe they can get some of the unemployed people to be skilled laborers."

To kick off the parade, labor council President Jack Shea held a news conference in which he urged national and state leaders to do more to spur economic growth. He cited a report issued last week by the Keystone Research Center, a Harrisburg-based think tank, that put Pennsylvania's unemployment and underemployment rate at more than 13 percent.

"This year, we are going to use the special attention the labor movement gets once a year to give voice to the workers hurt most by the failure of political leaders to take action on creating jobs," Shea said in a statement.

Anna Jane Shally, 70, of Crafton was among those in the crowd holding signs that read "Americans want to work" and "We are one, respect our work." She said she's never been in a union, but came out to support them because people need jobs.

"I think (unions) are under siege at this point," she said.

Joyce Rothermel, who retired in June after 24 years with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, said she wants to see the work force grow so fewer people need the food bank's help.

"Our business has never been busier," she said. "The food bank is hiring more people, and that's not the way it should be. We need the strength of the unions to grow so people can afford to put food on their tables."