Labor Day events around the state produced a spectacular show of solidarity against the governor's initiatives on the Nov. 8 ballot.

 

The governor, CTA President Barbara E. Kerr told assembled laborers at several Southern California observances, "continues to push his special election agenda that hurts our public schools, makes it harder to recruit quality teachers and takes California in the wrong direction. Teachers stand with nurses, firefighters and all workers to defeat the governor's destructive agenda and protect the progress we've made in our schools and our communities."

 

Introduced as a "lethal weapon" in the fight against the governor, Kerr pointed out that Prop. 74 would make it harder to recruit and retain qualified teachers; Prop. 75 would weaken the political voices of public employees and strengthen the role of corporations in politics; and Prop. 76 would cut billions of dollars from schools by gutting Prop. 98 minimum funding guarantees.

 

Kerr was one of the honored guests - including Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Executive Secretary-Treasurer Martin Ludlow, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and CTA Executive Director Carolyn Doggett - who were shuttled by bus to several of the parades, picnics and rallies in Los Angeles. The theme of the day was "Working People are America's Heroes."

 

The first stop was the International Longshoremen's Pancake Breakfast in Wilmington, where they met up with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez.

 

Then they joined thousands of working men and women - including teachers, firefighters,bus drivers, police officers, nurses, truck drivers and Service Employees International Union members - for a rally organized by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

 

The rally served as the launching area for the annual Labor Day parade, which included several teachers among those marching the two-mile route.

 

While the parade was taking place, Kerr and the other VIPs were shuttled to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where amass was held to honor workers.

 

The next stop was the picnic being held by the Brotherhood of International Electrical Workers Local 18, where workers waved signs that said "A deal is a deal. "The signs were appropriate for both the situation with the governor and their contract struggles, says Kerr.

 

Afterward, Kerr and the other dignitaries returned to Wilmington for the longshoremen's Labor Day picnic.

 

"It was a spectacular day," says Kerr. "It made me feel that the real people of California are not going to let the governor take our state away from us."