At the August 28 March on Wall Street, AFSCME President Lee Saunders invoked Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“He spoke of the promise of America — the promise of equality, dignity, and opportunity for all, and how it remained unfulfilled for far too many,” Saunders told the crowd of thousands. “He said that our country had written its citizens of color a bad check –– a check that came back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ And here we are: Here we are, more than six decades later. Working people of all backgrounds coming together, as we should, still fighting to cash that check. That is why we are here on Wall Street today.”
On the 62nd anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network (NAN) staged the Wall Street event, which was a clear kickoff to the Labor Day weekend and drew a large crowd of marchers, including many from organized labor.
Members of AFSCME District Council 37, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and other unions joined the march, which started at Foley Square and filled the streets with chants of “No justice, No peace!” all the way to the financial district.
Marchers had boarded buses to come to New York City from states all along the East Coast and even from across the country — some from as far as California.
The march served as a protest against the Trump administration’s aggressive right-wing policies, which have been criticized for worsening economic inequality, and particularly being anti-labor.
Sharpton was joined by other labor leaders, including American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) President Everett Kelley, as well as numerous civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King III and his wife Arndrea Waters King, and National Urban League President Marc Morial.
One of the Trump administration’s main policy goals has been to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts that have helped create a more level playing field for ethnic groups.
Janet Murguía, president of the civil rights organization UnidosUS, told marchers, “We cannot give in to the naysayers who are falsely claiming that our country’s changing demographics are a problem. They are wrong, dead wrong. Companies know better than anybody that our communities are the current and future economic engine of this nation. We are the solution, not the problem.”
Murguía emphasized that “We are America’s future workers — business owners, taxpayers, and customers. And despite the lack of full economic justice, our spending power today combined is the equivalent of the third-largest GDP in the world.”
Saunders told marchers that Wall Street’s billionaire bankers and major corporations have been complicit with the Trump administration’s planned assault on the U.S. economy. He claimed they’ve cheered Trump’s tax cuts and the drafting of anti-worker policies.
“As Dr. King said on this day in 1963,” Saunders said, “we refuse to believe the Bank of Justice is bankrupt. I bet all of us here today agree that in a nation as wealthy as the United States of America, we can afford to ensure that no one goes hungry or unhoused, that workers are paid a living and fair wage every single day, and that opportunity and dignity are available for all of us. So, here’s the deal — here’s the deal. Our task is to build a movement that refuses to separate civil rights from labor rights or human dignity from economic justice.”
Saunders added, “This march does not end today — it’s only just beginning. We will not stop marching. We will not stop mobilizing. We will not stop agitating, educating, and organizing. We will not stop. This is just the beginning for us. We’re going to fight like hell every single day until we win.”