While my diary frequency has dropped to the seldom level, I have managed to keep my comments snappy enough that the powers at DKos have seen fit to make me a trusted user. Coming up with comments off the top of my head is easy, posting new diaries requires a lot more effort. Especially when a lot of the effort involves actually doing something worth writing about. Since it is now 12;21 AM on 9/8/13, I guess it is safe to say that yesterday I joined in something that is worthy of such an effort. Yesterday the City of Pittsburgh got a bone fide labor rally and march, less than a week after we had the second largest Labor Day parade in the country. Follow below the orange squiggle for the scoop...
When I attended the first meeting of the organizing committee that this rally and march were suggested to us by the organizers, it was to be a full blown episode of civil disobedience, complete with arrests and jail time! Organizers and workers were going to sit down on 5th Avenue in front of UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) Presbyterian, though some members argued the Shadyside hospital would be more effective, and stay until they were hauled off by the police and jailed. I have toured our new (relatively speaking) jail with our Boy Scout troop, and knew just exactly what that would be like. Fortunately, my wife, having won on both the Democratic and Republican primary for our Pittsburgh Public School Board seat (another diary worthy topic, to be sure) nipped any idea of my taking part in any jail time. I was also concerned having seen up close the armored tactical vehicle the Pittsburgh Police have in their arsenal, also because of my association with the Scouts. They were used against the G20 protestors when the G20 met in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago, the LRAD alone had me thinking about getting ear plugs. I must say, though, that when the police are fully aware of what to expect, the Pittsburgh Police are very accommodating and reasonable. The SEIU got the permits for the rally and march, the city gave us a great starting and end point, and we were allowed to have our symbolic sit-down protest in front of UPMC. No arrests were necessary, though the police warned us that anyone arrested was going to be in jail until Tuesday. I'm pleased to report that the whole day was a smashing success.
The weather was absolutely perfect, a brisk, cool Fall morning. Bright, really bright sunshine and a nice breeze as it started to warm up. Since I had a good camera, I was tasked with taking pictures of the event. I even went to the effort to unearth the DV Camcorder and microphone I have used to record numerous dance and chorus recitals. I planned to tape most of what happened at the rally on stage and switch to the camera for covering the march. Armed with both cameras, the stereo microphone and my monopod, all batteries charged, fresh tapes and empty SD cards, I was good to go. The only thing I forgot was some sunscreen...
So we got to the start point, in between the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning and Student Union. I got some last minute instructions and a purple armband. I was also given a bunch of release forms which were to be filled out and signed if I were to take pictures with so few people in them that a release would be needed if the union wished to use them. Even though I had a clipboard in my backpack, I quickly realized that filling out any such forms would really cramp my time. I only took wide angle group photos unless they were of public figures, where release forms aren't necessary. Oh my! look at the time, 1:15 AM and I have to get up in the morning... I'll have to fill you in on who spoke, what was said, what the crowd was like, and at least one estimate of the crowd size, tomorrow. I'll publish this much now to see how much interest it creates :)
Update One - It's still Sunday morning, so I hope I haven't kept the DKos audience waiting too long. Since I have at least an hour of DV footage, and nearly 1000 photos from yesterday, I'm trying something new to me, adding pictures to my diary. I'm hoping the pictures will save me a few thousand words. I've already chosen around 9 shots to give a timeline of the event, which will be published, assuming editorial approval, in our first issue of Worker's Word, the newsletter the union will be sending out to workers and others on our mailing list. As I watch the photos upload from the export folder, I'm fervently hoping the .JPG.png file names cause no problems, everything looks good, so here goes nothing....
Since my first concern was getting the DV camcorder and mic working right, I neglected to get the proper settings on the camera, which I used single handedly while holding the monopod. So all of the shots of the stage, and many of the march, were quite a bit overexposed, requiring some adjusting in iPhoto. Overexposed beats underexposed any day. I have always been impressed with the level of artistic talent this city produces and attracts. If I had the time to spare, I would happily pay the cover charge to hear this trio play at a local club. That is, if I could afford the cover charge...
After the band finished, State Representative Erin Molchany took the stage as the MC. I almost signed her up for the rally at the SEAD picnic, but she was having too much fun at the time. But I did manage to fill my sign up sheet with a number of notable local Democrats, including City Councilperson Natalia Rudiak and Allegheny County Democratic Chair Nancy Mills. I'll need to refer back to the video to be more precise about who spoke on which issues, so what follows is just off the top of my head. The first speaker was State Rep. Dan Frankel, who is a tireless advocate for health care issues. He criticized UPMC for it's billing practices that generate huge profits for the healthcare giant, while adding no extra value to the healthcare benefits of citizens. The next two speakers were Chelsea Wagner and Michael Lamb. These two are controllers at the County and City level, respectively, and they both spoke about how UPMC's not for profit status adversely affects the taxes that can be collected from the regions largest land owner and employer.
The next speaker was a local nurse, I didn't get her name in memory, who told her story of the problems she encountered when she used her regular, trusted doctor for treatment using her current Blue Cross Community Blue insurance. Usually the insurance was billed and payed a portion of the bill, and she would pay the out of network costs. But now UPMC and Highmark are currently engaged in a fight that is affecting all aspects of healthcare in this region. To continue seeing this doctor, the insurance companies are requiring patients to switch insurance. UPMC is trying to apply the now corporate catch phrase of choice to make these changes more palatable. But at base, all of their actions are, in my opinion, showing their fear of competition that would cut into their not for profit obscene profits...
Following the nurse, Erin called for the UPMC workers there to join her on stage. I have a picture I'd like to add here, but it's still processing in the image queue. Oh well. I can add it later. I was recording the event, so I was not on stage. As the workers were leaving the stage, Natalia Rudiak took the microphone and added her energy to the crowd. I think if there was a DKOS directory of more and better Democrats, Natalia and Erin would be at the top of the list. City Council candidate Dan Gilman, who should easily assume the seat vacated by Mayoral Candidate Bill Peduto, spoke next. Somewhere in the mix, Allegheny County Labor Council President Jack Shea gave a rousing speech focused on the rights of the workers to form a union, and that, despite UPMC denials of unfair and illegal treatment of it's workers, the NLRB finds merit in the workers' claims.
Most of the UPMC workers at the rally, I had to take the pictures...
The final speaker before the march was none other than SEIU Healthcare PA president and Allegheny Co. Labor Council Man of the Year, Neal Bisno. He was just great, reminding us that when women fought to earn the right to vote, they got up, linked arms and marched. When blacks in this country tired of the Jim Crow treatment they were getting, 50 years ago they got up, gathered in mass and marched on Washington, D.C. And today, when we workers are tired of the unfair labor practices of UPMC, and tired of the not for profit status of UPMC robbing our community of valuable real estate and tax revenue, we stood up, gathered together and marched on UPMC.
The rally marching down 5th Avenue
Our symbolic act of civil disobedience, sitting down on 5th Avenue in front of UPMC. A couple of minutes of silence followed by the bagpiper playing Amazing Grace, and the protestors joining in song.
These Pitt students must have joined the march coming back on Forbes Ave. The home-made banners were a nice touch :)
I see that it is no longer Sunday morning as I prepare to hit the publish button. My other pictures are still locked in the Image Queue upload cycle. Probably an operator fail on my part. You can view a few pictures of the day
here.
Final update - (I hope!) Managed to add more images directly to the diary. It's time to put this project to bed, I have an early (for me) shift tomorrow and miles to go before I sleep!