Labor Day will be marked in Los Angeles Monday with a march, rally and barbecue in Wilmington and a music festival in Exposition Park.
The theme of the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition’s 36th annual Labor Day March and Rally is “Unity Makes Stronger Unions.”
Thousands of union members, their families, supporters and friends, are expected for the march, which will begin at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Broad and E streets, continue along Avalon Boulevard to M Street, concluding at Banning Park, where a rally and barbecue will begin at noon.
The fourth annual Nightshift concert celebrating the history and future of Labor Day will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Exposition Park. Performers include George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Sheila E., The Wailers and the James Andrews All Star Band.
The festival is organized by Working Californians, which describes itself as a research and advocacy organization consisting of a coalition of labor groups, community leaders and policy makers.
Labor Day is “a time to reflect on the battles fought and victories won by our brothers and sisters before us,” said Rusty Hicks, the executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.
“Many of the rights and protections we enjoy today are the direct result of those battles and victories. It’s also a time to honor and thank the workers of today — the ones who keep our country moving.”
In his Labor Day proclamation, President Barack Obama wrote, “this Labor Day, let us remember the struggles and the progress that have defined America and let us resolve to continue building a nation where everyone is treated fairly, where hard work pays off and where all things are possible for all people.”
Labor Day, an annual national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of the nation, was first celebrated in the U.S. on Sept. 5, 1882 in New York City.
In 1887, Oregon became the first state to formally recognize Labor Day. By 1894, 31 of the then 44 states had made Labor Day a holiday when Congress passed a bill designating the first Monday in September a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and territories.
—City News Service