Governor Wolf In Town As Hundreds Of Union Members March In Philadelphia For Labor Day
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Hundreds of Philadelphia union members took to the streets on this Labor Day, to mark the holiday.
Wearing T-shirts with their unions' colors, members of the Sheet Metal Workers, Postal Workers, Teachers, and other unions marched up Columbus Boulevard.
At a pre-parade rally, Governor Wolf pushed for passage of his version of a state budget, and for raising the minimum wage.
"What's the best public policy we could have? A good job," Wolf said. "We need a raise in the minimum wage, right? It means we also have to support the rights of workers to organize."
Union Leaders also welcomed President Obama's move to extend sick leave to employees of federal contractors.
Local AFL-CIO head Pat Eiding says, "It's long overdue. We did it here in Philadelphia, and we had a little bit of a fight to get it done here in Philadelphia."
But J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees wants more.
"I also want the President and the Congress to expand paid sick leave for federal and D.C. government workers," he says. "All workers deserve that."
