On March 5 a huge coalition of concerned citizens participated in an impressive rally at City Hall. The urgency to protest the impeding cuts to vital human services by the city administration was enough to cause New Yorkers to take to the city pavement en masse. The people of the City of New York were raising their voices, placards, and leaflets in an effort to get the word out to the Mayor: additional cuts will be devastating to students, workers, and their families.
The UFT was well-represented at the rally. Their members, wearing white ski caps, punctuated the crowd on this bright afternoon. Representatives spoke to the crowd of cheering supporters. AFT/UFT President Randi Weingarten spoke to the swelling crowds while UFTers applauded and held placards which read “OUR CITY, OUR STATE, OUR FUTURE,” “1 NEW YORK STANDING TOGETHER,” and “FAIR BUDGET FOR ALL.”
Representatives of CUNY, TWU, DC37, and 1199SEIU also addressed the need to stop the budget cuts. And the unity needed to stop these budget cuts gained in momentum as echoes of approval from the crowd rallied behind every guest speaker on the podium.
This demonstration will not end for UFTers at City Hall. UFTers will press on to Albany on March 17th, UFT Lobby Day. A caravan of buses will leave from each UFT borough office. UFTers, parents, and other concerned citizens will meet in the chambers of our state legislators as we look for answers to the myriad problems we face in our city schools.
The future of the children and the future of this great nation are contingent upon making education a priority for all of its citizens. Therefore, we must keep the public in pubic education. It’s elementary!
Phyllis Murray’s photos from the rally are in the UFT’s SmugMug photo gallery.
Additional photos are at uft.org.
