City Hall Protests

On February 23 at 11:00 am, a crowd gathered outside Manhattan’s City Hall for a rally to show their support for unions and workers in Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker is planning to go ahead with a controversial bill to rid unions of the right to collective bargaining and cut budgets for public workers’ benefits.

Protestors from around the city held up signs with slogans such as, “Worker’s rights are human rights!” and “We are all Wisconsin.” They joined together in a series of chants such as “What’s disgusting? Union Busting!” which has been used in Wisconsin’s protests as well.

There is debate over whether Wisconsin’s governor is acting practically by looking to compensate for deficits or if his actions are more oriented ideologically motivated. Many are concerned that the advancement of this political agenda in Wisconsin could spread across the nation in a wave of anti-union sentiment.

"Let's be clear,” said Jack Ahearn, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, “Attacking workers' rights anywhere is a step backwards for everyone. Attacking public employees is an assault on the fabric of our society. Attacking the role of unions in America demeans the very principles upon which our nation was founded. We shall not let these attacks go unanswered today, tomorrow, or ever."

Here in New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed budget cuts a week ago for the next fiscal year starting in June, which include layoffs for teachers and a reduction in library hours according to the Huffington Post.

The rally’s attendees were there for a variety of reasons. Some were there due to a growing fear of anti-union sentiment while others were focused on the issues facing public workers.

 “The teacher, the student, the nurse had to take a cut—that’s not America,” said sympathizer Seth Goldstein.

Another protestor at the rally was Aliqae Geraci, a public librarian at the Queens Library. She came out of solidarity to public workers across the nation, and expressed concern over Bloomberg’s budget cuts, which will affect her and her coworkers personally and may entail layoffs or at least cut backs in hours. Although she doesn’t think New York will get rid of collective bargaining rights anytime soon, she is concerned about the effects that Wisconsin’s actions will have across the nation.

“Walker’s leading the pack,” Geraci said.

Around the time that all of the protestors managed to get through the metal detectors set up by the NYPD, the rally dispersed into tête-à-têtes and photo ops.

Rally attendees were there for preemptive reasons, in order to prevent a similar situation to the one in Wisconsin happening in New York, and to protect their rights.

“It’s not about waiting until there’s a bill on the table,” Geraci said. “It’s about fighting [for worker’s rights] everyday.”