Members of the SEIU 32BJ union marched through Back Bay as part of the Labor Day parade on Monday, Sept. 7. Yawu Miller photo
Thousands of union members turned out in Boston’s Back Bay on Monday morning for a Labor Day parade and rally in Copley Square. Traditionally, union officials placed more focus on the annual Labor Day breakfast, a formal affair that typically takes place at the Park Plaza Hotel and features speeches from elected officials, while SEIU locals, which represent security guards, janitors and other service workers, have taken to the streets to bring attention to strikes and ongoing labor disputes.
But for the last two years, building trades unions, AFSCME, AFL-CIO affiliates, and others have also taken to the streets and the politicians’ speeches have moved outdoors for a public display of solidarity.
This year, Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu were among those who addressed the assembly in Copley Square. David Williams, a security guard and member of SEIU 32BJ, also took a turn at the microphone.
“Brothers and sisters, I am one of over 3,000 unarmed security guards across Greater Boston with 32BJ who are fighting right now to win quality, affordable health care,” he said. “Although the plans offered by our employers might meet legal requirements, they cost so much and cover so little that many of us end up getting insurance through Mass Connector. And in a recent 32BJ survey, 15 percent of security guards said they had no health insurance at all.”
A small contingent from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance — roughly 30 members— also took part. “Many members are on the picket line at the Encore Casino,” explained Suzanne Lee, who serves on the board of the alliance. “Others are care workers. They can’t leave the people they take care of.”
She added that “a lot of home care organizations have been taken over by private equity firms. Even though the money comes from the state, [workers] are not getting pay increases. If the state increases the budget, it goes into the pockets of the middleman.”
The march and rally illustrated what many activists say is an increase in union membership, much of it motivated by deteriorating working conditions similar to those Lee described: corporate greed, the concentration of wealth in the hands of billionaires, and the resulting decline in pay and working conditions for union members.
“You’re seeing a k-shaped economy, with people at that top doing really well and people at the bottom struggling to survive,” said Cambridge City Councillor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler, who marched with a contingent of Democratic Socialist of America members. \
“Our government, our economy is like a pyramid scheme where people don’t see their fruits of their labor,” he added.
In recent years, Boston has seen its share of strikes as nurses, tugboat towing teamsters, university workers, graduate students, teachers and, currently, more than 1,300 casino workers have gone to the picket line.
“Labor is growing,” said Christopher “Tiger” Stockbridge, a Dorchester native who is president of AFCME Council 93, representing many Boston city workers. “The energy, the comradery, the brotherhood — the power of unions is being felt across the country. America has had enough of corporate greed. They’re killing the middle class.”
Stockbridge said that Council 93 has seen its membership grow by 7,000 over the last five years. “People need union protection,” he said. “People need collective bargaining.”
While the Boston Teachers Union has seen its ranks shrink with budget cut-driven layoffs this year, the losses have been offset by charter school teachers who have joined the union, noted Lea Serena, the vice-president of the Dorchester-based BTU.
“Charter school teachers are tired of their working conditions,” she said. “They’re tired of the turnover.”
This year, teachers at Codman Academy and Neighborhood House Charter School came into the BTU fold. “We have a goal of representing all charter schools,” Serena said. “We’re optimistic.”
Despite the challenging working conditions their members often face, union activists expressed optimism, with many noting their membership has grown substantially in recent years.
Dave Foley, president of SEIU Local 509, said his local represents 28,000 workers and has seen its ranks increase by 6,000 in the last year. More and more workers are becoming radicalized by their experiences with employers, he noted.
Increasing militancy in the labor movement is pushing union members to support Democratic Socialist candidate and helping the Working Families Party gain a foothold in Massachusetts, Foley added.
“Union members are fed up with the same old BS,” he said. “We’re seeing a groundswell of people who are fed up with politicians who say they’re with labor and side with corporations.”
