In this pivotal moment, Pittsburgh workers show at Labor Day in numbers that reflect real power

We started off this year’s Labor Day parade by standing with the newly organized nurses of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital as they paused for a moment of silence to honor Steven Menefee and Timothy Quinn, two steelworkers killed at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works last month.

This somber moment reminded us of what’s at stake. So much has changed since last year’s celebration of organized labor. We’re now fighting the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to federal agencies that investigate workplace accidents such as the one in Clairton. In addition, the administration has, by executive order, axed the collective bargaining rights of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. And we’ve lost count of the number of federal jobs eliminated by the administration’s reckless Department of Government Efficiency – aka DOGE – team.

The nightmare scenario is that we all end up with no protections or rights. We know what that looks like, and it’s not pretty. In fact, last week we published a story about the horrific fate of workers in such a situation less than a century ago. Unions, though, have the organizational structure and the determination to put a stop to all this nonsense. Monday’s parade brought an estimated 100,000 workers to the city streets. That’s an awesome display of power by working people, and across the country 1,000 Workers Over Billionaires organized by the AFL-CIO with dozens of other groups held picnics, marches and other events, too. It’s time to use that power to let the administration know that it’s working people and not billionaires that make this country run.

Once the parade got underway, Magee-Womens Hospital nurses showed their joy. They had good reason to be in a good mood. Last week they announced they’d voted to join Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania in what’s being called the largest nurse union election in recent Pennsylvania history.

While standing on Grant Street, we saw a number of workers from various unions carrying signs reading “Why Oxford Why.” One worker handed us a flyer, which included a bar code, so we checked it out. We learned the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters is asking Oxford Development why it is working with a general contractor with a record of using subcontractors that “bring in out-of-town labor, pay below area standard wages, and skip basic employer responsibilities ….” A new CEO, a new affront to labor, one marcher told us, one with dire consequences possibly for union workers.

Down by the reviewing stand, we saw a number of elected officials – including Gov. Josh Shapiro, who had many people surrounding him, some taking photos with him – and supporters of all ages, some with children, many with protest signs against President Donald Trump and his administration.

One sign with Union Family at the top of it in red, white and blue lettering stood out. John and Adrienne Hunter of Squirrel Hill made it and displayed it proudly across from the reviewing stand. Those unions listed on it: National Association of Letter Carriers, Pennsylvania State Education Association, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 126, Brotherhood of Railroad Signal Men Local 33 and United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 432.

Adrienne explained who belonged to which union: Her father, Joe DiNapoli, was the letter carriers union member, and he paid dues long after he retired, a staunch union man until he died at 93; she taught school; her husband paid dues to both the electrical workers and signal men during his working life; and now their son, Matt Hunter, is a union carpenter.

It’s the first year for them attending the parade and displaying the sign, she said. Why? “We’re in terrible times, and it’s so important [to be here].”

Two Allegheny General Hospital nurses stopped by our table near the reviewing stand to chat after they helped lead the parade with the Magee nurses.

Cathy Capozzolo and Michelle Boyle said the nurses from the two hospitals marched together in support of each other. And the successful Magee union victory could help them, too. Whenever they meet with hospital negotiators, they are often told that the administration knows what the market is for nurses and more. That successful vote at the Oakland hospital changes that stance, they said. Plus, unionization helps nurses at both hospitals have a stronger voice in deciding how health care will be delivered to patients.

Zack Mainhart, co-chair of United Steelworkers Union Local 1557 that represents workers at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works, marked his first Labor Day parade with a special fundraising effort. He sold Clairton Strong T-shirts to parade-goers lined up for a lunch outside the USW building after they finished their marching.

All the proceeds benefit the families of the injured and deceased workers from last month’s explosion and fire at the plant. “Lots of people supporting us today,” he said. He sold out of several sizes quickly.

His union’s GoFundMe drive stood at $85,856 in donations by the end of the Labor Day holiday.

Sylvia Wilson, a retired Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher who served on the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Executive Board from 1977 through 2010 then became a full-time PFT staff member before retiring in 2013, announced the locals’ names as they passed by. She briefly described the history of Labor Day, noting the first U.S. parade of 10,000 marchers took place in New York in 1882. President Grover Cleveland declared it a national holiday in 1894.

She read through a list of what we have all come to take for granted – eight-hour workday, 40-hour workweek, paid vacations and sick leave, safer working conditions among them – and reminded those watching the parade that unions built this country with those improvements. Because of that, Wilson said, “Labor Day is not just for workers. It’s for everybody.”

This was the third consecutive year in which we’d marched as striking workers in Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade. A number of supporters boosted our numbers, and for that we’re grateful.

A shoutout, too, to Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Local 400 and the big yellow sign members carried spelling out their support for us. You couldn’t miss it.

Thanks in large part to that local, other unions and those who continue to stand with us, we’re holding strong in what’s now the nation’s longest strike. We’ve got plenty of experience in fighting back against powerful forces that want to strip workers of their rights.