DC 37 Activists Join Thousands at the Women’s March NYC

DC 37 activists were among the estimated 200,000 marchers in the Women’s March NYC on Sat., January 20. Photo: Mike Lee

By MIKE LEE

An estimated 200,000 committed activists descended on midtown Manhattan on Jan. 20 to protest against the anti-women and anti-immigrant agenda of the Trump administration and the GOP-controlled U.S. Congress.

Under a bright sun on a spring-like Saturday afternoon, DC 37 was there in force in the Women’s March NYC.

Led by Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375, DC 37 activists participated in the march to voice their fierce opposition and resistance to the dark forces unleashed by the election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency in November 2016.

The local March was highly-charged in the wake of the government shutdown and the deportation threat to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants, known as Dreamers. The #MeToo movement, which has encouraged women to stand up to abuse by men, was a key driving force of the nationwide protests.

Millions marched from New York to Los Angeles, where an estimated 600,000 attended. There were additional marches in hundreds of cities and towns—and from around the world.

“We must stand together and defend our rights,” said Local 375 activist Michelle Keller-Ng. “In the past year, we have all struggled to survive under the cruel weight of the current administration.”

Committed to action, speakers at the rally called upon participants to become active in the political process, pushing to translate public opposition to the Trump GOP into organizing, registering voters, taking control of the U.S. Congress and winning key state-wide elections in the November mid-term elections.

This day of resistance and protest is only the beginning of a stepped up effort by the union to take our voices to the streets. Under threat by the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME that aims to defund public employee unions, DC 37 is fighting back against a deeply funded right-wing continuing war on working families and organized labor.

On Saturday. Feb. 24, DC 37 and other New York City unions plan a major demonstration in Foley Square in lower Manhattan to speak out against the 1 percent cabal that seeks to destroy the labor movement.