New England Local Supports Union Siblings on Labor Day

Local News

A diverse group of 19 people wearing a variety of SAG-AFTRA and IATSE T-shirts stand and kneel with an arch of white, blue and orange balloons in the background and a tall white banner on the left that reads in blue-and-orange letters, “It’s Better in a Union.” One of the people stands with his dog on a leash.

Dozens of SAG-AFTRA New England Local members gathered with union workers from across industries on Sept. 2 for the Greater Boston Labor Council’s 2024 Labor Day activities in Boston. Rallies for hotel workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 26, health care workers represented by CIR/SEIU, and janitors represented by SEIU 32BJ preceded and followed an outdoor breakfast at Statler Park in Boston, drawing attention to key worker struggles in the Greater Boston area.

Speakers included regional labor leaders and elected officials such as U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell. IATSE Local 11 business manager Colleen Glynn and SAG-AFTRA New England Local President Andrea Lyman gave rousing closing remarks. Lyman thanked union siblings from across the region for supporting SAG-AFTRA’s 2023 TV/Theatrical/Streaming strike.

“Boston is a union town,” said Lyman. “Last year, we marched downtown to support the SAG-AFTRA [strike], and today we will join the UNITE HERE Local 26 [hotel workers] picket line.”

After picketing with union hotel workers, New England Local members continued their Labor Day actions by joining other solidarity rallies with SEIU/CIR and SEIU 32BJ. The Greater Boston Labor Council, which organized the Labor Day activities, represents the more than 100,000 union workers who drive the Greater Boston economy.

Photo: New England Local members and local IATSE members show union strength on Labor Day and support for their union siblings in solidarity actions.

A woman with short gray hair is in front and the center of a selfie with three men behind her on a busy street. All four people are wearing black. The first man has a beard and is wearing a baseball cap, the second man has gray hair and the third man, wearing glasses and a black baseball cap, is giving the thumbs-up sign with his left hand.
A diverse group of people stand on either side of Rep. Ayanna Pressley, center, in an outdoor area. Pressley wears a black and white striped dress with a pink blazer and a black crossbody purse. Three people stand on one side of her and five people stand on the other side, all wearing a variety of SAG-AFTRA T-shirts.
Wu, wearing a teal and black patterned dress, stands in the middle of a group of three women with each of her arms on the shoulder of a woman on either side of her. The woman on her left wears a colorful hair wrap, a yellow suit jacket, black pants and a black “SAG-AFTRA Strong” T-shirt. The other woman wears a straw hat with a pink ribbon, a black SAG-AFTRA Pride T-shirt with a rainbow and an open white button-down sweater with jeans.
Three men, all in black shirts and tan pants/shorts, with two of them wearing sunglasses, stand on one side of a tall vertical white banner that reads in blue and orange letters “It’s Better in a Union.” A man with a beard stands on the other side of the banner wearing tan shorts, and a white and yellow top. Sunglasses hang from his shirt.
Healey wears white pants, a white top and a blue blazer, and stands next to Lyman who’s wearing a black SAG-AFTRA Pride T-shirt and rainbow necklace.
Warren wears a black top and red blazer and stands next to James in a colorful hair wrap wearing a yellow suit jacket, blank pants and a black “SAG-AFTRA Strong” T-shirt.

From left, SAG-AFTRA Senior Business Representative Benjamin Shallop, New England Local Board members Don Warnock and Vic Ramos, and Local President Andrea Lyman support Unite HERE Local 26 members on the picket line on Labor Day. Photo by Andrea Lyman.

New England Local members and local staff shine with U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, center, in Statler Park in Boston on Labor Day. Photo courtesy of Liz Eng.

New England Local Secretary Liz Eng, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and New England Local Board member Gilda James celebrate Labor Day in Boston. Photo courtesy of Liz Eng.

New England Local members, from left, Dennis Gradjeda, Vihann Kong, Tony Soohoo, and Benjamin Mogel say “It's Better in a Union” on Labor Day in Boston. Photo by Liz Eng.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, left, and New England Local President Andrea Lyman offer big smiles in Statler Park in Boston on Labor Day. Photo provided by Andrea Lyman.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New England Local Board member Gilda James support workers on Labor Day in Boston.

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