The Million Worker March was a rally against perceived attacks upon working families in America and what organizers described as millions of jobs lost during the Bush administration

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 with the complicity of the Congress of the United States.

The Million Worker March took place on October 17, 2004 in Washington, DC. An estimated 10,000 demonstrators spent the day on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...

 listening to speeches and discussing various issues. Organizers presented an array of demands from better wages to an end to the war in Iraq

Protests against the Iraq War

Beginning in 2002, and continuing after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, protests against the Iraq War were held in many cities worldwide, often coordinated to occur simultaneously around the world...

.

Standing where his father gave his "I have a dream" speech, Martin Luther King III

Martin Luther King III

Martin Luther King III is an American human rights advocate and community activist. He is the eldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Dexter Scott King, Rev. Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise...

 told the crowd that civil rights, workers and anti-war activists must come together in common cause .

Organization and support

The Million Worker March was primarily organized by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union

International Longshore and Warehouse Union

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii and Alaska, and in British Columbia, Canada. It also represents hotel workers in Hawaii, cannery workers in Alaska, warehouse workers throughout...

. Although the ILWU is affiliated with the AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...

 and the Canadian Labour Congress

Canadian Labour Congress

The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...

, neither national trade union officially endorsed the rally.

Based on local union endorsements, organizers estimated that they were representing about 3.5 million workers .

A diverse group of organizations supported the Million Worker March. Global Exchange

Global Exchange

Global Exchange is an advocacy group and non-governmental organization , based in San Francisco, California, United States. The group's mission is to promote human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice around the world.-History:...

 and the Rainforest Action Network

Rainforest Action Network

Rainforest Action Network is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, USA. The organization was founded by Randy "Hurricane" Hayes and Mike Roselle in 1985, with the financial help of Fund for Wild Nature....

 backed the demonstration . The rally also garnered backing from many celebrities like Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader. The widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.Mrs...

, Danny Glover

Danny Glover

Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...

, Jesse Jackson

Jesse Jackson

Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...

 and Chumbawamba

Chumbawamba

Chumbawamba is a British musical group who have, over a career spanning nearly three decades, played punk rock, pop-influenced music, world music, and folk music...

.

Demands

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 .

Participants

The movement invited all working class people to come to Washington, DC.  The leaders claimed a sense of urgency to solve problems that plagued working families immediately instead of idly waiting for the end of the George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 administration . Many participants carried signs with slogans like, "Bush lied, thousands died" and "More money for jobs, not war" .

See also

• Labor movement
• UNITE HERE
  UNITE HERE
  UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with more than 265,000 active members The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries...
  
  
• List of protest marches on Washington, D.C.

External links

• Million Worker March Movement
• Sinkers.org video
• Archive.org snapshot of antiwar4themillionworkermarch.org site from October 11, 2004
• The Million Worker March: Black People Did Not Get the Vote by Voting An Interview with Clarence Thomas (ILWU Local 10), Co-Chair of the Million Worker March
• Workers Preparing To Rally On Mall By Manny Fernandez, Washington Post, Thursday, October 14, 2004