DETROIT – After a three-year hiatus, the Labor Day parade in Detroit returns Monday, Sept. 4. The theme is “Labor United Stronger Than Ever.”
Byron Osbern, a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58, is part of the team organizing the march. Their goal is to make sure the meaning of Labor Day isn’t lost.
“It means solidarity; it’s a celebration of working people,” Osbern said.
This year, from mail carriers to autoworkers and construction workers, union members across Southeast Michigan will meet at Sixth Street and Michigan Avenue in Corktown. Starting at 9 a.m., the anticipated 15,000 people will take a new route: The group will march along Michigan Avenue to Roosevelt Park, where there is a program that will feature guest speakers and political leaders.
“We’re going to have everybody together. We’re going to break out hotdogs, chips, we’re going to have things for children. We’re going to make sure that our children know what we stand for. We’ll make sure our spouses, our families know what we stand for as working-class individuals in this country,” Osbern said. “We want to make sure that all of Detroit, Southeast Michigan, that the entire country knows that labor and community are intricately involved; without community there would be nobody to go to work and without work there’d be nothing for our communities.”
Watch the full report up above.