Workers, Labor Leaders Rally in Los Angeles for Union Rights

Led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and a host of political, religious and community leaders, more than 1,000 workers marched to Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday for a boisterous, labor-sponsored rally -- one of dozens of actions staged across the country to promote the right to organize unions.

Marchers ranged from private security guards to newspaper reporters.

“It’s very difficult to overcome people’s fear,” said Richard Bergendahl, a security officer at a downtown high-rise who has been trying to organize his co-workers under the Service Employees International Union. “The bosses threaten to fire you, and if you’re on marginal pay, you have to take that threat seriously.”

Also joining in the noontime event were reporters for the Chinese Daily News in Monterey Park, who have been embroiled in a two-year battle to join the Communication Workers of America.

Union leaders, who claim federal labor laws are outdated and stacked against organized labor, hoped the events would spark a national discussion about organizing rights.

“We want to get into a real fight for the rights of American workers to freely form unions, to restore that right, which is a fundamental human right,” said Stewart Acuff, organizing director for the AFL-CIO, speaking by telephone from Atlanta, where he was among 500 union members who took over the headquarters of a law firm that specializes in fighting union drives.

Acuff said about 20,000 workers are illegally fired each year for advocating unionization, and employers rarely are penalized for it. He also said the National Labor Relations Act, which governs union elections, had not been updated to reflect current employment trends, such as outsourcing and the use of temporary agencies.