Pittsburghers March Through Squirrel Hill To Demand Dignity, Justice For All Workers
SQUIRREL HILL (KDKA) -- Hundreds of Pittsburghers marched through Squirrel Hill in solidarity Wednesday night for International Workers' Day.
Workers from all professions came out to demand dignity and justice for all working people.
"All of our work is valuable and ... one job should be enough, and we should be able to uplift and celebrate each other as working people," event organizer Christina Acuna Castillo said.
May 1 is the celebration of International Workers' Day, recognizing working class people, workers' rights and the role labor unions play in protecting everyday people.
The movement stems from the Haymarket riots in Chicago in the '80s, when a bomb killed seven police officers and four workers during a labor demonstration.
May Day protests take place all around the world, including Berlin, France and Indonesia.
Single working parents were honored at the Squirrel Hill event, along with caretakers, teachers, factory workers, refugee workers and incarcerated workers.
"To celebrate our working people, to celebrate immigrants and migrant workers and to sort of take the lessons they've given us and use that as a way to get justice, dignity and joy for all workers in the future," Acuna Castillo said. "Right now, it's more important than ever that we fight together against the things that are killing us."
More May Day events are happening this weekend, including a parade on Saturday. It starts at 1 p.m. in North Oakland. The parade ends at West Penn Park in Polish Hill.
