Minnesota unions to lead anti-war rally

News Type: Event — Seeded on Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:42 AM EDT

Article Source: TC Daily Planet

us-news, protest, minnesota, union, anti-war

Minnesota unions will lead a rally Sunday, Sept. 23, at the state Capitol to demand an end to the war in Iraq.

The demonstration, which will involve many of the state's leading labor organizations, is the first major union anti-war protest to take place in Minnesota in many decades, organizers said. The rally starts at 1 p.m. on the south steps of the state Capitol.

Traditionally, unions would rather remain neutral on issues of war and peace, but the nature of the Iraq War makes standing on the sidelines impossible, labor leaders said.

"The toll in terms of human lives and the economic cost has fallen disproportionately on working folks," said Steve Hunter, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, one of the participating organizations. "There has not been shared sacrifice in this country. It's time to find our way out of this mess."

In addition to the Minnesota AFL-CIO, labor organizations participating in the rally include AFSCME Council 5, Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council, SEIU Minnesota State Council and the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly.

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{"commentId":1035228,"authorDomain":"ririaroo"}

Ben Josephs

Read the entire text of the AFL-CIO's statement at http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/03/07/end-our-military-involvement-in-iraq/

Learn more about labor opposition to the Iraq War at www.uslaboragainstwar.org

{"commentId":1035228,"threadId":"152156","contentId":"971937","authorDomain":"ririaroo"}

2 votes

#1 - Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:45 AM EDT

{"commentId":1035580,"authorDomain":"chum"}

Chum

"I think people are fed up with dollars going overseas to fund a war that none of us think is going to gain the outcome it was intended to do," she said. "At the same time, we have people without health care, we have bridges that need repair. The money needs to be spent here building America and helping working families, not lining the pockets of large corporations like Halliburton and KBR."

I have been since before the first dollar was wasted.

{"commentId":1035580,"threadId":"152156","contentId":"971937","authorDomain":"chum"}

2 votes

#2 - Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:55 PM EDT

{"commentId":1038242,"authorDomain":"azsky13"}

azsky13

Ben... Are you planning on covering this?

I would love to do it, but I am out of town for the weekend.

{"commentId":1038242,"threadId":"152156","contentId":"971937","authorDomain":"azsky13"}

2 votes

#3 - Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:46 PM EDT

{"commentId":1038371,"authorDomain":"ririaroo"}

Ben Josephs

Unfortunately, I'll be out of town too.

We should probably focus on setting up a Twin Cities Newsroom for this stuff and try to get people to cover it. Plus, it'd be nice to have more people available, too.

{"commentId":1038371,"threadId":"152156","contentId":"971937","authorDomain":"ririaroo"}

2 votes

#3.1 - Thu Sep 20, 2007 1:23 PM EDT

{"commentId":1038404,"authorDomain":"azsky13"}

azsky13

That's a good idea.

My time is real limited right now. I am picking up shifts at a group home on the weekends for extra money. This is my only weekend off and I need to go down to see my mother. It is possible that I may go down only for the day on Saturday. If that is the case I may be able to get to St Paul and cover it.

{"commentId":1038404,"threadId":"152156","contentId":"971937","authorDomain":"azsky13"}

2 votes

#3.2 - Thu Sep 20, 2007 1:36 PM EDT

{"commentId":1038628,"authorDomain":"ririaroo"}

Ben Josephs

I hear you. That's one of the problems of citizen journalism, the lack of time - we need enough people to cover everyone. That could end up being a lot of people and I don't think we have that many right now

As far as launching a project for this:

I think that the RNC Collaboration will serve to tighten relations between Minnesota viners, helping us to accomplish more as a group afterwards. However, I'm a bit impatient and would like us to work together on other projects (or at least have a place to post events and attempt to assign reporters to cover them). The current Minnesota group could function this way, but I tend to think that collaborations should be internal and outside of full public view, but maybe not. Direction probably needs to be taken care of by someone else - I don't want to take more Newsvine projects than I can handle.

{"commentId":1038628,"threadId":"152156","contentId":"971937","authorDomain":"ririaroo"}

1 vote

#3.3 - Thu Sep 20, 2007 3:12 PM EDT

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BEN JOSEPHS

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Minnesota unions to lead anti-war rally

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