Join rally to stand up for our freedom to gather

Publish Date

MAPE members are encouraged to join thousands of working people and allies Saturday, Feb. 24, as we stand up for our freedom to come together in strong unions.

What: Working People’s Day of Action.
When: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24.
Where: State Capitol Rotunda, 75 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, St. Paul.
Sign up here: www.itsaboutfreedom.org

Free busses will be available at pickup locations across the metro and the state. Please RSVP no later than Wednesday. Go here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/working-peoples-day-of-action-st-paul-mn

MAPE is a co-host of this rally, along with numerous other Minnesota unions. Rallies are being held all across this country.

Here’s what we are fighting for:

  • Equitable pay.
  • Affordable health care.
  • Quality schools.
  • Vibrant communities.
  • A secure future for all of us.

We are demanding an end to a system that’s rigged against working people. Corporate elites, extremists and corrupt politicians who do their bidding have rigged the rules of our economy and our democracy against us.

Now wealthy special interests want to further rig the system in a Supreme Court case called Janus v. AFSCME Council 31. Mark Janus, an Illinois state employee, is challenging the authority of AFSCME, MAPE and other public sector employee unions to collect fair-share fees from all employees they represent.

This critical case attempts to divide working people and limit our power in numbers because unions give workers a powerful voice in speaking up for themselves, their families and their communities. When we join forces and stick together, we are unstoppable.

Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. joined striking sanitation workers in Memphis, TN, as they fought for the freedom to join together in a strong union, and for dignity and respect on the job.

On Feb. 24, working people and our allies will rise to defend the very freedoms for which King fought and died. Join the Working People’s Day of Action. There will be speakers, exhibits, sign-making and other family activities.