Union workers to rally Saturday in Philly

Working families are congregating in Philadelphia to attempt to put organized labor back on the national agenda.

The Workers Stand for America event Saturday will feature prominent voices from both national and international labor groups as well as U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.

Live entertainment will also be provided by three-time Grammy-winning musician Lucinda Williams.

It’s an event that’s not a culmination, but a commencement, says Liz McElroy, secretary treasurer of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO.

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“It’s a commencement where we go forward and talk about this … the right to a quality education, the right to access to the ballot box which is under attack here in Pennsylvania,” she says. “This is about changing the conversation in America. This is about making sure that politicians of all stripes hear these messages and are talking about these things, because it’s about time to put workers’ movement back at the forefront again.”

The event will take place at Eakins Oval, in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 11 a.m.

Organizers expect more than 20,000 people will attend.

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