Philadelphia labor leaders will announce details Monday about a national gathering in Philadelphia.
The Workers Stand for America rally will be held on Eakins Oval on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Aug. 11. Union members from Philadelphia, the tri-state region and beyond are expected to attend.
It has been described as an alternative to the Democratic National Convention, which is being held in North Carolina, which is a right to work state. Some national labor leaders are canceling or scaling back participation at the convention in September. About a quarter of Democratic convention delegates come from unions.
The event website says it is being timed "to precede both the Republican and Democratic national conventions to make it clear we are broadcasting our message to both parties."
Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz McElroy says there’s no better place than Philadelphia to convene a labor gathering and craft a platform focusing on working families, than in the city where the original Bill of Rights was written.
"Labor history started here,” McElroy said.
Local rally organizers will announce the speakers and musical entertainment at a Monday morning news conference at the IBEW Local 98 Union Hall on Spring Garden Street. South Philly native and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Charlie Gracie, one of the featured musical artists, will join the group and perform two of his rockabilly classics.
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Other listed participants on Monday include Pat Gillespie, Building Trades Business Manager; Liz McElroy, Secretary-Treasurer of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO; John J. Dougherty, Business Manager of IBEW Local 98; and Pete Matthews, President of District Council 33.
