Mineworkers, Dropkick Murphys and Senator John Fetterman Visit UAW Picket Line in Toledo
This past week, the UAW picket line in Toledo was visited by over 50 union mineworkers and the Dropkick Murphys stopped by before their show at the Huntington Center on Sunday.
Mineworkers were up at early as 3 am and came from Eastern Ohio and West Virginia to show solidarity with the striking UAW members. Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga joined the miners on the line.
“This is clearly an auto worker’s strike, but it’s much bigger than that,” said Tim Burga, the president of the Ohio American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. “This is an all-of-labor strike.”
Rick Altman, the vice president of the United Mine Workers of American District 31, who made the 4-hour bus trip, echoed those comments. “We’re here to fight with them. We’re here to stand with them. We’re here to show the corporate people that that fight isn’t just with them, it’s with all of us."
In his remarks, he thanked the members for their hard work, called for fair wages and benefits, and mentioned that despite the Ohio workers not being his constituents, he was fighting for them because the union way of life is a "national, critical issue."
"I'm going to keep on showing up, wherever it is, and do whatever it takes to stand with all of you. We have a four-hour drive home, but that's a small price to pay to be here with you today."
Finally, Sunday night before their concert at the Huntington Center and joining 150-plus union members at the Northwest Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council for the AFL-CIO Union pre-show party, the Dropkick Murphys joined the picket line where they met with workers and played an accoustic version of The Workers' Song.
“You have the full support of Dropkick Murphys,” Ken Casey, singer of the band, said in a Facebook Live broadcast, addressing a crowd of close to 100 people at the gate before singing the song during the band’s initial appearance at the site, with the big "JEEP" letters sign on the hill behind them.