A “Frontline First” Labor Day event to support workers’ rights
On Labor Day, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Boston Mayor Kim Janey, and Boston mayoral candidates John Barros, Andrea Campbell, Annissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu, to join workers and the Greater Boston Labor Council for a rally on workplace equity, opportunity, and safety and to “Build Back Better” with unions by directing federal COVID recovery funds to critical sectors, including housing and public transit.
WHAT: “Frontline First: for Opportunity, Equity and Safety,” a rally and BBQ to support frontline workers and build back better with unions. Stay updated with the latest information on the event via Facebook.
WHO:
Labor leaders and workers, including:
- Darlene Lombos, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Greater Boston Labor Council
- Steve Tolman, President, MA AFL-CIO
Elected officials, including:
- Senator Elizabeth Warren
- Senator Ed Markey
- Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)
- Mayor Kim Janey, City of Boston
- Congresswoman Katherine Clark (MA-05)
- Congressman Jake Auchincloss (MA-04)
- Maura Healey, Massachusetts Attorney General
- William Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Boston mayoral candidates:
- John Barros, former city economic development chief and Dorchester resident
- Andrea Campbell, District 4 city councilor and Mattapan resident
- Annissa Essaibi George, at-large city councilor and Dorchester resident
- Michelle Wu, at-large city councilor and Roslindale resident
Labor and community allies, including:
- Carlos Aramayo, President Unite Here Local 26
- Beatriz Torres, a 23-year employee of Marriott and member of Unite Here Local 26
- Jorge Rivera, Building Trades Unions, Painters and Allied Trades District Council 35
- Joe Nardelli, Building Trades Unions, Painters and Allied Trades District Council 35
- Mimi Ramos, Executive Director, New England United 4 Justice
- Mei Hua Zeng, 1199 Service Employees International Union member
- Matthew Hamilton, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 member
- Mike Vartabedian, Assistant Directing Business Representative, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
- Katie Murphy, RN, President, Massachusetts Nurses Association
- Carla Leblanc, Nurse, St. Vincent Hospital, MNA
- D. Beth Griffith, Board Chair & Executive Director, Boston Independent Drivers Guild
WHEN: Monday, Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. (BBQ to begin at noon)
WHERE: Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave., Boston followed by BBQ at Copley Square
*Both the rally and the BBQ are open to the press. The event will follow evolving CDC and state guidelines for masking and distancing. The 11 a.m. rally will be a masked event.*
WHY:
The event, called “Frontline First: for Opportunity, Equity and Safety,” will begin with a rally at the Marriott Copley in protest of the unfair firing of its hospitality workers in 2020 and the hotel management’s engagement of out-of-state construction contractors with safety and labor violations for its latest renovation project.
Shira Laucharoen is a reporter based in Boston. She currently serves as the assistant director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. In the past she has written for Sampan newspaper, The Somerville Times, Scout Magazine, Boston Magazine, and WBUR.
