TheMillion Worker March was a rally against perceived attacks upon working families in America and what organizers described as millions of jobs lost during theBush administration with the complicity of theCongress of the United States.
The Million Worker March took place on October 17, 2004 inWashington, D.C. An estimated 10,000 demonstrators spent the day on the steps of theLincoln Memorial listening to speeches and discussing various issues. Organizers presented an array of demands from better wages to an end to thewar in Iraq.
Standing where his father gave his "I have a dream" speech,Martin Luther King III told the crowd that civil rights, workers and anti-war activists must come together in common cause.[1]
The Million Worker March was primarily organized by theInternational Longshore and Warehouse Union. Although theILWU was affiliated with theAFL–CIO and theCanadian Labour Congress, neither national trade union officially endorsed the rally.
Based on local union endorsements, organizers estimated that they were representing about 3.5 million workers.[1]
A diverse group of organizations supported the Million Worker March.Global Exchange and theRainforest Action Network backed the demonstration.[2] The rally also garnered backing from many celebrities likeCoretta Scott King,Danny Glover,Jesse Jackson andChumbawamba.
Organizers called for universal health care, a national living wage, guaranteed pensions for all working people, an end to the outsourcing of jobs overseas, a repeal of the Patriot Act, increased funding for public education, free mass transit in every city, a reduction of the military budget and cancellation of pro-corporation pacts.[2]
The movement invited all working-class people to come toWashington, D.C. The leaders claimed a sense of urgency to solve problems that plagued working families immediately instead of idly waiting for the end of theGeorge W. Bush administration.[3] Many participants carried signs with slogans like, "Bush lied, thousands died" and "More money for jobs, not war".[2]
