Illinois labor representatives and U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky
(D-Evanston) and Bill Foster (D-Naperville) gathered in Chicago this morning on a national day of mobilization to call on House
Republicans to stop holding families and seniors hostage in the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations.
The Washington lawmakers,
along with members of the Chicago Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO and advocates for the poor and middle class, stressed that tax loopholes for
Wall Street and the richest Americans be closed instead of cutting
Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits.
“This is
about real people who will suffer real pain if the wrong decisions are
made,” said William McNary of Citizen Action Illinois.
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Labor union leaders gathered yesterday to demand comprehensive
immigration reform, joining in the fight for America’s more than 11
million undocumented immigrants.
The Chicago Federation of Labor has made a major television ad buy with a 30-second message making an appeal to elected officials and constituents about the fiscal cliff. The ad notes that although the election may have been a victory for Democrats at the local and national levels, "the fight has just begun."
A massive Labor Day rally is scheduled for Monday morning at 11 a.m., starting in Grant Park. Scheduled speakers at the rally include Jorge Ramirez, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, and Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.
