The Rainbow Push/UAW Jobs, Justice and Peace Rally on Saturday, August 28, called for a renewed support for the America Worker. An estimated 5000 supporters, met at the Ford/UAW building to march through the streets of Detroit, to ask for economic justice, employment opportunities, eliminating student loan debt, unemployment extension, financial regulation and foreclosure prevention.

Rev. Jesse Jackson Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the UAW President Bob King sponsored and spoke at the Detroit rally. Other national and local leader speakers, included Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Congresswomen Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Michigan Democratic Governor Candidate-Virg Bernero, Rev. Pastor Marvin Winans, Rainbow PUSH-Detroit President-Rev. David Bullock, Detroit NAACP President-Rev. Wendell Anthony and SEIU President-Mary Kay Henry.

UAW President Bob King asked if corporate America will bring back jobs to America:

"So we are asking corporate America and the financial institutions, to get those jobs and put us back to work. Bring those jobs back to America and have justice", King noted.

Candidate Virg Bernero with his newly announced Lt. Governor candidate, Southfield, Michigan Mayor Brenda Lawrence, asked the crowd if they knew about Wall Street's jobless recovery plan; while leading a "Main Street not Wall Street" chant.

"We are ready to fight for you. We are ready to take things back for the people. Its' work out just fine for Wall Street. In fact they say it is a recovery going on, maybe you haven't heard. You might not know they have a new name for it; it called a jobless recovery", Lansing Mayor Bernero stated.

The Rev. Marvin Winans song to the audience "God is Faithful". He also reminded the crowd of the importance Rev. Doctor Martin Luther King march on Washington, D.C. in 1963, along with a call to bring the United States economic assistance in Iraq and Afghanistan, back to this country.

“Those words (Dr. Martin Luther King in 1963) are here, those words are now and those words are now all. We want all that America has to give to us, Rev. Winans stated. “If can rebuild schools in Iraq, if we can have national health care in Iraq, if we can build up business in Iraq, if we can pay farmers not to grow stuff in Afghanistan…then we can put America’s back to work”.

SEIU President-Detroit Mary Kay Henry lead the large crowd in a chant of “No justice, no peace.”

As UAW President Bob King asked the attendees if they supported an extension of unemployment benefits for unemployed job seekers, the crowd replied definitively in agreement, with this action.

“We are here because we care about each other, we are here because we care about all the unemployed in America, we are here because we care about all Senior Citizens in America; and we are here to march for justice,” King stated. “The republicans say no to unemployment but at the same time, they want to extend tax breaks to the wealthiest in America”.

Rev. Jesse Jackson asked for attendees to raise their hands if crowd members or a neighbor was seeking new employment opportunities, facing foreclosure, in financial or student loan debt; a majority of the attendees agreed with one issues facing many Americans and unemployed job seekers.

“When you are one family member away from homeless or joblessness or in debt… that is a state of emergency,” Rev. Jackson stated.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) urged attendees to fight against the greed of Wall Street and banks and not be intimated.

“Chase Manhattan we are coming after you, Bank of America, we are coming after you. Do you think somehow we are intimated that we don’t know how to fight? Sometimes we get a little too quiet; because we think somebody is going to do something for us,” Congressman Waters spoke. “But now we know, what Jesse Jackson has always told us, no one going cares more about you then you care do yourself. It is time to get up and fight.”

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), reminded the audience that Republican minority in the Senate, blocked a basic unemployment extension benefits for three months, for job seekers under 99 weeks claims; while asking for a estate tax for the wealthiest Americans.

“It took three months to pass a basic extension of unemployment benefits for people that lost their jobs because of Wall Street”, Senator Stabenow stated. “But before we did that, they tried to eliminate the estate tax for 400 of the wealthiest families in America."

Senator Stabenow thanked President Obama on saving the Detroit area automobile industry and asked for audience members to vote in upcoming November elections.

When asked about the unemployment extension bill S-3706, the “Americas Want to Work” act, she sponsored to extend up to 20 weeks of benefit payments to the 99ers, the Senator stated, “It is going to be a fight.”

Attendees of the rally were overall pleased about its’ overcome and hopeful about cause to band together for Jobs, Justice and peace. “I was very much impressed and was thankful of the turnout,” stated Detroiter Vernon Young. Nekita Taylor of Detroit stated, “What I got from this march was motivation.” 

UAW Alternate Field Steward Stanford Smith spoke about the turnout and the employment message of the event, “I thought the rally turnout was exceptional. The message was very sound on creating jobs, being jobs back to America." 

“I thought it was a great turnout. A lot of our members turned out. Anyone that was here and experienced this today...they would have to get involved”, stated UAW District Committee Steward James Henderson.