Eau Claire Residents Gather for Labor Fest Rally in Phoenix Park

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WCFW) – Eau Claire residents gathered at Phoenix Park on Monday for the annual Labor Fest event, honoring the achievements of unions over the years.

A number of speakers at the event highlighted the contributions unions have made in the push for better and safer working conditions, including the five-day, 40-hour work week. They also highlighted the importance of labor unions as a force for political change in favor of the working class.

State Senator Jeff Smith spoke at the event, reflecting on the size of the Eau Claire crowd throughout the years following the passage of Act 10 over a decade ago. “The attendance dwindled, people began to feel like they weren’t really making a difference,” he said. “And it always takes some moment, that moment when your rights obviously are being attacked and taken away, for people to show up. We’ve got to show up every day, all the time, every year, because everybody counts.”

Organizers with Chippewa Valley Indivisible estimated that well over 200 people attended the rally.

The event also featured a speech from Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale, who urged residents to continue pushing for organized labor amid growing wealth inequality. With a Labor Day barbecue occurring at the other end of Phoenix Park, she described the current state of wealth inequality in a relatable way for Wisconsinites.

“Imagine 100 people coming to a cookout where there was one brat on the grill for each person,” she said. “100 people, one brat for each person. But 10 greedy guests grabbed up 70 of the brats for themselves, while 50 of the other people were left to share just three brats between them. That’s the inequality of wealth in America today.”

State Representative Jodi Emerson echoed that sentiment in her own comments. “Whether you are a union worker, or whether you’re a non-union worker, we are still all fighting together against the billionaire class,” she said “Let’s not let them divide us. Because when we work together, we build up the middle class, we build up America, and we don’t let them win.”