Hundreds of ILWU members and their families joined in the annual Labor Day March and Picnic in Wilmington. In the top left photo, ILWU International Vice President Ray Familathe (left) marched in the parade to Banning Park and in the bottom right photo, ILWU Local 13 President Bobby Olvera, Jr., spoke at the event.
Thousands of workers and their families turned out for this year’s Labor Day parade and picnic in Wilmington, CA. The annual tradition started with a burrito breakfast at the Longshoreman’s Memorial Hall where 1,500 burritos, courtesy of the Southern California Pensioners Group, were given to marchers to fuel them through the morning.
The march started at Broad and E Streets, just a few blocks from the Local 13 Hall and ended at Wilmington’s Banning Park for a full-day of music, food, and family. The march through downtown Wilmington was led by the Color Guard. Following behind the flags was the Southern California Pensioners group riding on a flatbed trailer. They tossed candy to children and others who gathered along Avalon Blvd to watch the parade of marching bands, classic cars, and hundreds of union members from all over Los Angeles county who were proudly marching in union t-shirts and behind their union banners. International Vice President Ray Familathe represented the ILWU officers at the event. Local 13 President Bobby Olvera Jr., spoke at the event. He acknowledged the hard work and sacrifices of the workers who fought for the right to form a union and won many of the rights that union members and their families benefit from today. “If you are a union member, thank the pensioners and retirees from every union.
It’s because of them that we have the benefits that we enjoy today.” Olvera also had a message for the scores of local, state and federal elected officials who were on hand at the event. “Tell your colleagues in the legislature, city councils and Congress to get up and do something for the workers of this country.” María Elena Durazo, who heads the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, also spoke at the event. She said that the labor movement must commit itself to pushing for a minimum wage of $15 an hour in Los Angeles. Currently, 46% of workers in LA earn poverty level wages and it ranks of one of the poorest major metropolitan areas in the country.