Thousands of union supporters took to the streets in downtown Los Angeles over the weekend demanding "corporatists" and the evil rich pay more in taxes.
Fox News reports that between 5,000 and 8,000 activists led by Teamsters, marched in solidarity with the public sector unions in Wisconsin. The protest included teachers, electricians, nurses, and longshoremen.
The LA Daily News reports that the protest - called "Solidarity Saturday" - came just one day after Los Angeles officials reached a tentative deal with union leaders that calls for civilian workers to contribute more to their own retirement and health care.
As in Wisconsin, the measure was taken as a way to save 600 jobs, stop furloughs, and help the city close a budget deficit.
As usual, unions are making the same demands of those who already pay the lions share of taxes.
According to Fox News:
One of several rallies around the country, the downtown event had some uniquely Hollywood elements — rallying workers included unionized actors and screenwriters.
The marchers, many of whom were brought in by school bus from as far away as San Diego, carried signs reading “Stop the war on workers” and “We stand with Wisconsin workers.”
Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa, Maria Elena Durazo from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and Fire Fighters of Wisconsin President Mahlon Mitchell addressed the crowd at the rally, according to a report at the Los Angeles Times. Tom Morello, guitarist for the band Rage Against the Machine, performed.
Mitchell dismissed the effort to keep the government solvent and claimed it was an attack on the "middle class":
"This is not about money," said Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin. "This is about an attack on me.
"This is about an attack on you. This is an emergency we have in Wisconsin and across the U.S."
"This is about an attack on the middle class," said Mitchell, citing $900 million in cuts to Wisconsin schools. "An injury to one is an injury to all.
"We need to reclaim our moral outrage ... because we are in the battle of a lifetime."
Protesters carrying the usual signs also targeted McDonald's, Target, and the offices of David and Charles Koch, two of the biggest donors to Republicans.
The LA Daily News also reported that "airplanes with banners bearing similar slogans flew overhead."
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