FEB. 6, 2009:NWLP
2/3/09
10:12 AM
Page 12
Union members march in Inauguration Day parade
By JAMES PARKS
National AFL-CIO
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For
Maria Somma, it was a dream come
true. The native of Vietnam and natu-
ralized citizen was one of the 265
union members who braved freezing
temperatures to join representatives
from across the country and the armed
forces to participate in the official in-
augural parade for President Barack
Obama. The contingent of union
members taking part in the parade in-
cluded members from the AFL-CIO,
Change to Win and the National Edu-
cation Association.
With 15 union members riding a
union-made float and 250 marchers
alongside, the workers’ contingent was
one of the largest groups in the parade.
This is the first time in recent memory
that workers have participated in the
parade.
Fred Mason, president of the Mary-
land State AFL-CIO, who spearheaded
the drive to include the workers’ con-
tingent in the parade, said nearly 1,500
groups applied to participate in the pa-
rade and only 100 were selected.
“The fact that 265 workers will be
in the parade is a real testament to the
importance of working people and
their issues to the well-being of the
country,” Mason said.
Somma, who lives in Pittsburgh
and is a member of the United Steel-
workers, rode the float representing
the AFL-CIO constituency group
Asian Pacific American Labor Al-
liance (APALA). She says labor’s par-
ticipation shows the power of the
American Dream for all people. “It’s
very exciting to be welcoming a per-
son of color into the White House and
to be a part of history,” she said. “This
is an incredible achievement for this
country. For Barack Obama to come
from his background and rise to the
top is not the typical American story.
His inauguration is part of the transi-
tion of this nation to fully embrace all
its citizens.”
Marching with a banner, “Amer-
ica’s Workers: United for Change,”
participants also carried flags that rep-
resented the issues most important to
working families: an “Economy That
Works for All,” “Great Public
Schools,” “Good Jobs Green Jobs”
and “Health Care for All.” The overall
Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. awarded
EPA grant for ‘green’ job training
Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. has re-
ceived a $200,000 grant from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to help train workers in environ-
mental cleanup skills.
EPA’s Brownfields Program
awarded 13 grants of $200,000 each to
non-profit organizations, workforce in-
vestment boards, and state and local
governments, geared toward cleaning
up contaminated properties and turning
them into productive community as-
sets.
Using the grant funding, OTI will
train 120 participants during eight six-
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week sessions. Students will be re-
cruited from low-income, minority, un-
employed or underemployed female
populations in the Portland area.
Trainees will receive Hazardous Waste
Operations and Emergency Response
certification, as well as a certification
of graduation from a state approved
pre-apprentice program.
Following completion of the course,
at least 78 trainees will be placed in en-
vironmental jobs. OTI has developed
partnerships with labor unions that op-
erate apprenticeship programs and with
potential employers.
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A contingent of union members from the AFL-CIO, Change to Win and the
National Education Association took part in the Jan. 20 inaugural parade in
Washington, D.C. With 15 union members riding the union-made float and
250 marchers alongside, the workers’ contingent was one of the largest groups
in the parade. Photo by Patrick G. Ryan, courtesy of the National Education
Association.
theme of the labor float is “Honoring
America’s Workers.”
The float was created by union car-
penters, welders, sculptors and
painters. Constructed of steel, wood
and foam, it was more than 17 feet
high and 24 feet long. Outlines of the
diverse “faces of labor” surrounded the
float as a salute to the backbone of the
United States — “the hardworking
men and women who make our nation
strong.”
Several of the marchers in the
workers’ contingent said the inaugura-
tion signaled a sea change in the way
the White House views workers.
“The country is coming together in
a way I’ve never seen in my life,” said
Latasha Carpenter, a member of Com-
munications Workers of America Lo-
cal 2108 in Beltsville, Md. “I’m proud
that we have a president who is em-
bracing us all as union brothers and
sisters. It is so important we stand
united and strong to ensure health
care, good jobs, and the Employee
Free Choice Act.”
Riding on the float and representing
the Alliance for Retired Americans
had a special significance for Jimmy
Allen of Bowie, Md. The retired mem-
ber of the Amalgamated Transit
Union, who is black, says he’s seen a
lot in his life, but “when it comes to an
African-American being president, I
said I wouldn’t believe it until it hap-
pened. Now I can tell my grandchild
that she can grow up and be president
of the United States and mean it.”
Even if you couldn’t be there, you
can honor this historic event with a
commemorative AFL-CIO Obama T-
shirt. The long-sleeve, union-designed
and printed shirts say “Yes We Can”
with the Inauguration Day date, Janu-
ary 20, 2009, under an image of Presi-
dent Obama. The T-shirt sells with a
suitable-for-framing commemorative
poster for $30 from the The Union
Shop Online. Go to (unionshop. afl-
cio.org) to order.
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