Hundreds of people marched and rallied for more workers’ rights as part of a Labor Day demonstration on the streets of San Diego on Monday, Sept. 4.
The activities began at 9 a.m. outside of San Diego City College where members of different union organizations gathered.
The participants marched through downtown San Diego until they reached the San Diego County Central Courthouse and rallied. Later, they continue marching through downtown until they reached the County Administration Building.
The movement objective was to enforce the minimum wage raise made by the City of San Diego, and for the respect for the labor rights of the many workers in San Diego.
“The minimum wage was raised in the City of San Diego but many employers don’t even want to give that minimum benefit,” said San Diego activist Benjamin Prado to La Prensa San Diego. “What happens is that the state has $10.50 per hour as a minimum wage, and San Diego has $11.50 per hour, and because it is a local ordinance, some establishments don’t want to respect the ordinance. This is a fight in the City of San Diego.”
The march and the rallies were part of the Fight for $15 national movement, which started in 2012 to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The Fight for $15 movement has spurred wage hikes totaling more than $62 billion for 22 million workers, including 10 million who are on their way to $15 an hour. The $15 per hour wage is the new labor standard in New York, California, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C.
“I started participating in marches when President Trump took office. I supported this type of movements before but now I think we need to focus more on our rights. Is better to have more people participating in many causes because this president has divided many people, which is a sad thing,” said Linda Newton, a protester, to La Prensa San Diego. “I work for the County of San Diego, and we are here supporting this march because we are planning to strike the County of San Diego since they refuse to negotiate a new contract with us. We County of San Diego employees are participating in this march because we are all trying to unite as union organizations.”
