The Million Worker March was a rally against perceived attacks upon working families in America and what organizers described as millions of jobs lost during the Bush administration with the complicity of the

Congress of the United States The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

. The Million Worker March took place on October 17, 2004 in

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An estimated 10,000 demonstrators spent the day on the steps of the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...

listening to speeches and discussing various issues. Organizers presented an array of demands from better wages to an end to the

war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. Other armed conflicts involving Iraq * Wars during Mandatory Iraq ** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921 * Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...

. Standing where his father gave his "I have a dream" speech,

Martin Luther King III Martin Luther King III (born October 23, 1957) is an American human rights activist, philanthropist and advocate. The oldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, King served as the 4t ...

told the crowd that civil rights, workers and anti-war activists must come together in common cause.

Organization and support

The Million Worker March was primarily organized by the

International Longshore and Warehouse Union The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 Wes ...

. Although the

ILWU The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 West ...

was affiliated with the

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

and the

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC (french: Congrès du travail du Canada, link=no or ) is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated. History Formation The CLC was ...

, neither national trade union officially endorsed the rally. Based on local union endorsements, organizers estimated that they were representing about 3.5 million workers. A diverse group of organizations supported the Million Worker March.

Global Exchange Global Exchange was founded in 1988 and is an advocacy group, human rights organization, and a 501(c)(3) organization, based in San Francisco, California, United States. The group defines its mission as, "to promote human rights and social, economi ...

and the

Rainforest Action Network Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, and first gained national prominence with a gras ...

backed the demonstration.Fernandez, Manny. "Workers Preparing To Rally On Mall." ''The Washington Post''. 14 Oct 2004. The rally also garnered backing from many celebrities like

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films include ...

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...

and

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...

Demands

Organizers called for universal health care, a national living wage, guaranteed pensions for all working people, an end to the outsourcing of jobs overseas, a repeal of the Patriot Act, increased funding for public education, free mass transit in every city, a reduction of the military budget and cancellation of pro-corporation pacts.

Participants

The movement invited all working-class people to come to

The leaders claimed a sense of urgency to solve problems that plagued working families immediately instead of idly waiting for the end of the

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

administration.Million Worker March. Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C, October 17th, 2004. http://www.antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org/. Many participants carried signs with slogans like, "Bush lied, thousands died" and "More money for jobs, not war".

References

External links

Million Worker March Movement

Sinkers.org video

Archive.org snapshot of antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org site from October 11, 2004

The Million Worker March: Black People Did Not Get the Vote by Voting
An Interview with Clarence Thomas (ILWU Local 10), Co-Chair of the Million Worker March
Workers Preparing To Rally On Mall
{cbignore, bot=medic By Manny Fernandez,

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

, Thursday, October 14, 2004 2004 protests 2004 in Washington, D.C. October 2004 events in the United States Protest marches in Washington, D.C. Labor movement in the United States

Organization and support

Demands

Participants

See also

References

External links