USW members from across the union traveled to the nation’s capital on Sat., Aug. 26, to continue Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream at the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington.

The rally took place at the Lincoln Memorial, which also served as the backdrop to King’s impassioned call for equality in 1963.

USW Vice President at Large Roxanne Brown, who joined the group at the D.C. event, said the march provided a needed opportunity for the labor movement to redouble its work on behalf of civil and human rights.

“We can’t stand by and watch as rights are stripped away from Black and Brown folks, from women, from LGBTQ+ people, from immigrants and disabled people,” said Brown. “The house of labor includes everyone, and it’s our duty to fight to improve the lives of all working people. This is our lane, this is our family.”

USW Vice President of Human Affairs Kevin Mapp said that he was inspired by the crowd and believes there is no better time to push forward with King’s work.

“Young people especially are fired up,” Mapp said. “They’re paying attention and they’re organizing their workplaces and their communities. We need to make sure that we, as labor, are communicating with them and working alongside them.”

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Union members renew commitment to social justice at APALA and LCLAA conventions

Labor activists across the United States renewed their commitment to social and economic justice at the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) conventions, both held the first week of August.

APALA and LCLAA are constituency groups of the AFL-CIO that aim to address the challenges that workers from diverse backgrounds face. APALA is the nation’s first national organization of Asian American and Pacific Islander workers that focuses on advancing worker, immigrant, and civil rights.

Members of APALA convened in Seattle for their 17th Biennial Convention where they elected new leadership and participated in workshops on international solidarity, building their local APALA chapters, and more.

USW Local 9562 member Kevin Boone is a new union activist who was a first-time attendee at the APALA convention. He serves as a steward at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and was grateful to absorb all of the information presented at the event in Seattle.

“You get a sense of how wide the diaspora is here and all the work people are doing,” said Boone.

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