Denver joined other cities across the country where labor leaders, elected officials and communities recognized May Day. Demonstrators gathered for a rally at the Colorado State Capitol on Thursday for better living wages and safer working conditions.
More than 30 cities across the U.S. joined in solidarity. People representing several fields like health care, the public sector, and janitorial positions, gathered to get their message to the public. That included claims that the Trump administration has attacked migrants and working people who the groups say are essential to the economy and communities.
“We have to stand up to what’s happening in our country. As workers in the state and in the country, we feel like we’re being attacked in a lot of different areas,” said one speaker.
Union workers at Lockheed Martin in Littleton also walked off the job on Thursday. The union president told CBS Colorado that after months of negotiations, the defense and aerospace firm refuses to give fair wages. They also claim the company, which is the country’s largest defense contractor, has seen record taxpayer-funded profits and that none of those profits have been passed along to employees.
“There was a lot of movement on our end. We didn’t get a lot of movement out of them. That’s what we’re frustrated with,” said United Auto Workers Local 766 President Bill Shafar. “We brought down our offer quite a bit, and they didn’t want to come up off the bottom and it’s not fair for our folks.”
Unionized workers at Lockheed Martin say they plan to picket in 8-hour shifts until an agreement is made.
Lockheed Martin released this statement to CBS Colorado, “We value our employees and their expertise and look forward to reaching a fair labor agreement for both sides. Our employees perform important work for our customers and the nation through their work supporting programs critical to our national security.”
