A veteran United Auto Workers leader moved to the tunes of an impromptu “radical marching band,” as labor unions joined forces with — and drew energy from — a new movement of young activists who have taken over Wall Street.
The joint dance took place Wednesday, as the Occupy Wall Street movement teamed up with major mainstream labor unions in a solidarity rally that drew thousands to the streets of New York.
It was the biggest show of support for the nascent movement, which began on Sept. 17, when a group of loosely associated activists started camping out in Liberty Square, near Wall Street, to declare war on corporate greed. This week the movement started spreading to hundreds of cities, including New Haven.
Melissa Bailey Photo
Leaders of major labor unions proclaimed their support for the movement Wednesday with official endorsements and bodies sent to Foley Square, on the steps of the New York state courthouse. The square filled with protesters hoping to recreate the Arab Spring in the USA and overhaul the distribution of wealth in America.
It was a watershed movement for both the “occupation” protesters and the labor movement. The protesters have succeeded in gaining national attention and support for a challenge to the current approach of dealing with the country’s economic crisis — for taxing the rich more, dehumanizing corporations under the law, and increasing regulation and criminal prosecution of the financial industry, for instance. But they to date lacked significant institutional support from groups representing larger portions of the “99 percent” of American society to whom they aim to appeal. The labor movement, meanwhile, has long found itself struggling to regain power in the country and counter the influence of Republican union-busters and now the Tea Party. Despite cultural differences with some left-leaning protesters — of the sort historically exploited by proponents of conservative policy more aligned with corporate interests, such as Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan — labor leaders concluded that the new movement offers an opportunity to reset the national discussion.
Unions declaring support for Wednesday’s march include the AFL-CIO, UAW, the Communication Workers of America, and the city’s transit workers and teachers unions. Click here for a full list.
A large group of Occupy Wall Street-ers marched uptown from Liberty Square at 3 p.m. to meet their new allies.
Marchers held handmade signs reading “Eat The Rich,” “Indifference is a toxic asset,” and “Turn Wall Street into Tahrir Square.”
“Join us!” called out one protester, receiving a quizzical look from a woman on top of a double-decker New York Sightseeing bus.
Meanwhile, labor unions were marching in from various strongholds.
At Foley Square, a makeshift drum and brass brand merged the parties together, spurring SEIU janitors to pump fists and professors to tap feet in approval.
The band kept the beat going as union leaders spoke, then brought up the rear of a thousands-long line of marchers who headed downtown to the Wall Street encampment at Liberty Square.
An assortment of “radical marching bands” came together to provide the music, said Eddie Rothschild (pictured with cowbell). Rothschild plays in Vancouver-based The Carnival Band, one of a number of groups that has been touring the East Coast in a series of radical marching band festivals, he said. Other bands, with names like Titanium Sporkestra and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, came from Seattle, Chicago and New York.
He said the groups have “a strong anti-commercial” sentiment that fit well with Occupy Wall Street.
Jason Candler showed up to Wednesday’s rally with an alto saxophone, wearing two hats. A member of Hungry March Band, he has been showing up to Liberty Square to take part in daily town hall meetings, where decisions are made by modified consensus.
As an adjunct professor at New York University’s film school, he’s also a union member. He saw an inspired marriage taking place Wednesday between the occupiers and the unions, aided by blasts of trumpet.
The young people occupying Wall Street “are the spark,” he said, but “sparks go out” if they don’t have anything to catch onto. Labor may be the way to help the movement catch fire, he said.
A crucial element labor has brought to the table, Candler said, is “bodies” — lots of them. Wednesday’s rally “wouldn’t have happened” without them.
Labor also potentially brings money and institutional clout.
He said the music Wednesday aimed to “calm people down,” “to make people smile instead of being angry,” and to inspire.
The tunes did just that for Daniel McDonald (pictured), who watched the band with a gleaming face as he marched behind. McDonald is president of United Auto Workers Local 7902, which represents adjunct professors. A color theory professor at The New School, he rounded up about 10 colleagues to attend Wednesday’s march.
“The music pumps people up, it makes people excited, and it reaches the soul,” he said.
He declared the labor movement on the same page as the young music-makers and Wall Street occupiers. “We’re tired of the corporate greed,” he said.
George Albro, a veteran political activist and a union rep, called the new movement “absolutely the greatest thing that ever happened.”
Albro, who’s 62, is secretary-treasurer of UAW Local 2325, which represents legal aid lawyers in New York City.
He applauded “the combination of youth and enthusiasm of Occupy Wall Street folks, who are real heroes in my view.”
“The rich have taken over our democracy,” Albro said, “and finally the 99 percent is fighting back. We owe a lot to these young people who are occupying Wall Street,” sleeping for days in the rain, he said.
The bond between the labor movement and Occupy Wall Street “will be unbreakable,” he proclaimed.
He said the Occupiers “bring energy, wisdom even though they’re young, and a realization of who is ripping off our country.”
He said the music behind the march has changed since the 1960s, when he was active in civil rights protests. “We had Pete Seeger,” and “maybe more wind instruments than brass.”
He predicted the movement would “transcend the ‘60s,” because there are no specific demands, but a broader call to “restructure society and how its fruits are distributed.”
Toward the end of the night, the newly joined parties showed a division of tactics. When the mainstream labor marchers dispersed, a group of young activists continued to march off the permitted route to Wall Street, where they met a police barricade.
The evening ended in discord, with nightsticks flying, pepper spray and arrests. Click on the play arrow and click here for footage.
That incident reflected an upcoming challenge facing the newly married leaderless occupiers and traditional unions: Whether their tactics and goals can coexist, or whether they’ll lead to division.
Previous Occupy Wall Street/ New Haven coverage:
• Protests’ Demand: A “World We Want To See”
• Protesters To Occupy Green Starting Oct. 15
• Wall Street Occupiers Page Verizon
• New Haven Exports “Free”-dom To Occupiers