Thousands of workers and activists from around the country converged on Washington, D.C., Oct. 17 for the Million Worker March, a rally that fell short numerically but stood tall in spirit. A fired-up DC 37 contingent of activists from a dozen locals included Tyrone Evans, a School Crossing Guard and member of Local 372. Mr. Evans came from Brooklyn before dawn with several members of his local to take one of the four DC 37 buses.

“Bush is cutting back on education and health care. And the job situation keeps getting worse,” said Mr. Evans. DC 37 participants also included Treasurer Maf Misbah Uddin, Local 420 President Carmen Charles and Local 372 Vice President Santos Crespo. The organizers of the demonstration issued several demands, among them universal single-payer health coverage, amnesty for all undocumented workers, halting privatization, repealing the Patriot Act and ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

“We know what working people are facing, millions have lost their jobs,” said Mr. Uddin, who addressed the crowd on the steps of the Washington Monument. “We need jobs, we need health care and we need our right to strike.”

Other speakers included actor Danny Glover, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Martin Luther King III. “The most important step we can take is the short step to the ballot box,” said Mr. King, speaking from the spot where his father stood 41 years ago to deliver his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. “We must vote like we never have before.”

Mr. Clark blasted the Bush administration’s foreign policy. “It is the most openly destructive in the history of the United States,” said Mr. Clark. “It enriches the rich and impoverishes the poor.”

— Alfredo Alvarado

Local 768 member Samantha Benton (right), was among the many DC 37 members in Washington, D.C.

The DC 37 contingent at the Million Worker March in Washington D.C. on Oct. 18 was led by DC 37 Treasurer Maf Mishbah Uddin (center).