PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s Labor Day parade returned Monday, after COVID-19 forced a cancellation last year.
That wasn’t the only difference at Monday's celebration. There was a spirit of optimism about the future of the labor movement.
“Is Philadelphia a labor town?" Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia) asked the parade-going crowd. As is traditional, elected officials took the pre-parade stage to court the marchers.
But Boyle marveled at the difference in the message this year.
"I was able to go up as a member of Congress with the two other members that represent Philadelphia, and talk about a record-setting infrastructure bill that we’re getting ready to vote on in the House [of Representatives] in the next week," Boyle said. "That is a world away from where we were a year ago."
Former Congressman Bob Brady, a member of the carpenters' union, said there is a renewed sense of optimism about organized labor.
"We’re really coming back," said Brady.
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"Membership’s picking up and rightfully so. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. We’re working men and women. They built this country and we’re taking the country back again."
Both Brady and State Senator Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) credited, in part, having a president that is the most actively pro-union in nearly a century.
Brady said President Biden had considered attending the parade.
"We have a president that supports the labor movement, so folks feel energized. There’s a sense of optimism that exists this year," Street said.
Front line workers, such as Andre Jones of the Transport Workers Union, also said they feel a new appreciation from those who depended on them through the pandemic.
"The one thing that the pandemic has done has shown people what the backbone of this country really is with the essential workers," said Jones. "It showed the importance of these people and what they really, really mean to this country."
Deputy Mayor for Labor Rich Lazer said the pandemic also brought to light the inequities that those workers had long struggled with. He touted the just-negotiated contract with District Council 33 as a step toward addressing them.
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"Our sanitation workers, our water department, our rec staff, a lot of our workers can't work from home, so they've got to go out there in whatever element it is and get the job done, and they do that," Lazer said. "We’re very proud of them."
Thermon Spence, a member of District Council 33, was feeling it. He thinks the pandemic opened people’s eyes to the importance of union workers.
"I never in my 26 years had people say thank you," said Spence.
"But I’m getting it now, so we are appreciated."
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