February 01, 2018

Working People’s Day of Action: Join us Feb. 24 in NYC and Buffalo

Author: Kara Smith
Source:  NYSUT Communications
working people's day of action

UPDATE: Feb. 24 @ 3:20 p.m.

day of action

Thanks to everyone who took part in the amazing events in New York City and Buffalo today!

We have more coverage in the works, but in the meantime, here are your tweets, photos and videos from today.

Be sure to check out our Janus Action Center for more ways to help you tell everyone: "I'm sticking with our union!"


Working People's Day of Action

This month — Black History Month — marks the 50th anniversary of the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis, Tennessee, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in solidarity with 1,300 workers fighting for civil rights, better pay and improved working conditions.

It was an historic union moment.

We face another such moment. On Monday, Feb. 26, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Janus vs. AFSCME Council 31, a case funded by wealthy interests to further rig the system against working people.

But, as always, organized labor is not standing still. We’re not rolling over as billionaire bosses attempt to use the courts to manipulate the economic rules and lay siege to worker freedoms

No, we’re taking action.

Join us on Saturday, Feb. 24, for the Working People’s Day of Action — a network of events in cities nationwide — to stand up for the freedom of working people to join together in strong unions, and to fight for equitable pay, affordable health care and a secure future.

New York City: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Feb. 24, Foley Square, 111 Worth St.

Buffalo: 11a.m., Front of the Federal Court Building, 2 Niagara Square

This is an opportunity to remind all Americans that unions are the clearest path to the middle class for many workers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2017, union members earned $11,000 more, on average, than non-union workers. As union membership wanes in the United States, worker rights and wages fall, vastly increasing the wealth gap between the rich and the working class. Unions are one of the few ways we can make our voices heard while making a difference in the workplace.

On Feb. 24, join thousands of union members and allies in New York City and Buffalo - and across the nation - to remember our past struggles and pledge our continued commitment to the union.

You can RSVP online for events in New York City and in Buffalo; for more information, contact your NYSUT Regional Political Organizer.

In the coming days, we will share more information about the Working People’s Day of Action and we look forward to seeing you in New York and Buffalo on Feb. 24 when, together, we will stand proud and strong and say: Union yes!