Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Former Polish President Lech Walesa holds Times Square rally for union workers

BY Edgar Sandoval
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Former Polish President Lech Walesa (C) attends a rally of building and construction trades union members in New York's Times Square October 25, 2010.
Former Polish President Lech Walesa (C) attends a rally of building and construction trades union members
in New York's Times Square October 25, 2010.
Former Polish President Lech Walesa (C) attends a rally of building and construction trades union members in New York's Times Square October 25, 2010.
 
Working-class hero Lech Walesa rallied more than 12,000 building trade union workers in Times Square Monday with a rousing speech calling for unity during tough times.

"Some of you are old enough to remember what we shouted then was, 'Union yes!'" said Walesa, who as leader of the Solidarity leader movement helped topple communism in Poland and the rest of the Soviet bloc.

Walesa said they didn't have guns or missiles, but they had spirit and faith - and union workers need to act as one when facing foes in the U.S. that want to drive them apart.

"The spirit is stronger than missiles and nuclear power," he said to cheers.

Walesa's words touched a chord with many of the union members.

"What he did for Poland, we can do in America," said Wayne Richardson, 52, a father of three from New Jersey who lost his laborer job a few months ago.

"Right now our obstacles are lack of jobs. A lot of the new buildings are being built with non-union workers. Little pay and no benefits. We need to fight against that."

Urbano Guaman, 45, a father of three from Queens, said the Nobel Peace prize winner spoke from experience.

"Everything he did was because of unity," Guaman said. "He inspires us to stick together."

4 comments:

  1. Lech probably knew his share of corrupt characters after all he was fighting them. Did he make nice with some in order to furtherer his ambitious goal. Therefore he doesn't really care if Carpenters take over the IBEW's territory, or that we simply can't take our union back under the present circumstances. Would he agree that we should shut up and sit down as were corraled into this behavior because you need a few corrupt guys in charge. Not the Lech I grew up with !

    I am quite sure the labor orgaizations paying for his hotel didn't tell him all about the Carpenters Union. Would he have stood. Not the Lech I grew up with !

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  2. why was the PBA president speaking at a building trades affair?? Cops don't belong to a union. The cops work for the bosses.

    Another sham to try to get the market share back. Hold on brothers & sisters, non union is here to stay.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just Google this:
    "Lech walesa an agent with code name Bolek".

    ReplyDelete
  4. AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ BY EVERY AMERICAN!

    http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1102772

    ReplyDelete

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