The Solidarity Day March

Reagan la roba a los pobres Migrant farm worker at a demonstration, Washington, D.C. / / Espada, Espada, Frank, circa 1981, Image via the Library of Congress.

On the 18th of September, 1981, about one-fourth of a million unionists gathered on Washington D.C for a rally protesting Republican policies. This gathering was known as the Solidarity Day March, which was organized by The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The march included blacks from South Carolina, white union men from Arkansas, middle-aged women, and young couples with children.

The march was organized because, earlier in 1981, twelve thousand five hundred of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike from their jobs at the Federal Aviation Administration to fight against cruel stress on the job and risk of the safety and health of passengers and crew of airlines. President Reagan fired the air controller after forty-eight hours and replaced them with military personnel on the 5th of August 1981.

The fired air controllers were demanding a pay raise, better working conditions, a shorter workweek, and an end to back-to-back long shifts. The Reagan administration was justified for firing the twelve thousand air controllers because federal employees were banned from striking. There were 10 near misses among airplanes before the strike, however, during the first year of the strike, there were over 400 near misses. Some of the fired air controllers lost their homes, the union was penalized millions, and the strike fund was withheld .

Also, the march was organized to protest President Reagan's right-wing policies, which included cutting off minimum Social Security benefits, eliminating public-service jobs, the dismantling of Occupational Safety Law and reducing tax on the rich. President Reagan's policies led the loss of public service jobs that financially destroyed families and puts their members in need of welfare benefits. During President Reagan's presidency, there was 52 percent unemployment among black youth, which could lead to hopelessness, a fall in productivity, and a rise in crime . The director of a district union in Cleveland complained that one of his members was hurt financially by the layoffs and the director blamed President Reagan due to the Presidents inability to lower interest rates. President Reagan's inability to lower interest rates led to an increase in saving, hence a fall in demand, therefore, a fall in sales and to maintain profitability, businesses layoff works .

Allied groups join Solidarity Day Protest: 1981, Weyman Swagger, circa 1981. Image via Flickr.

The march against Reagan's policies was led by Thomas Donahue, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, Coretta Scott King, co-chairman of the Full Employment Action Council, Bayard Rustin, chairman of the A. Philip Randolph Institute,  and other notable figures .The protesters gathered peacefully to tell President Reagan and Congress about their disdain for the government’s economic policy. The protesters included children who carried an Equal Rights Amendment sign and a schoolboy who wore the message thanking the President for the increase in school lunches .

After the first march, in 1991, a second march was organized in honor of the 10^th anniversary of the first march. About 300 thousand people attended this march. The march was in the wake of the Gulf War, and the marches urged the government to focus on domestic issues rather than foreign affairs. The national issues included education, health care, and improving employees’ rights. The marchers included members from more than 180 religions and groups.

Concerning the Gaudium et spes, the Solidarity Day March is an example of citizens being oppressed by the government and had to protest to stand up for their rights as workers and human beings. The government forced its employees in the aviation industry to work long and stressful hours in an unsafe environment, thereby putting the lives of the crew and passengers of airplanes in danger. Therefore, the workers decided to strike to fight for their rights. Moreover, the economic policies from President Reagan's administration and Congress led to the loss of jobs, unemployment, and inflation which did not only affect workers but also children. Therefore, their protests, in 1981 and 1991 is supported by Gaudium et spes, where it speaks about the citizens having the right to defend their rights by protesting.