The union invites you and your family to join with us on a very important day, Saturday, Sept. 8.

When we march in the city’s Labor Day Parade, we do so to remember what it took to get there: the decades — in fact, more than a century — of at times heartbreaking struggles for unions to gain the power that it has.

Things we take for granted, such as civil service protections, a guaranteed pension, a strong collective bargaining agreement, premium-free health care coverage, a safe workplace environment and a vast array of educational, housing and legal benefits, among others, are the culmination of the hard work and struggles of generations before–and this hard work of vigilance and fightback continues to this very day.

The Saturday march offers an opportunity to celebrate those accomplishments, as well as an opportunity to show our gratitude for what we have gained over the years. March with us. Let your voice be heard. Shout out about the truth that our union is our power.

After a setback in the U.S. Supreme Court in June, this is the moment when we must stand together as one mighty, mighty union and take back the rights and benefits that generations of workers fought and died for. We will not let a Supreme Court decision like Janus v. AFSCME to define who we are. As DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido said, “Our lives will not be determined by a Supreme Court decision.”

We define who we are. We determine our lives. On Saturday, we shall join tens of thousands of our labor sisters and brothers to shout these facts out to the world.

This is a year when we face perhaps the most important election in our lifetime. The Labor Day parade is traditionally the time election season kicks off and DC 37 begins its campaign to support union-endorsed candidates for national, statewide and local elections.

Primary Day is on Thursday, Sept. 13. Don’t forget to show your support for progressive, pro-union candidates and vote.

Join us. March with us.