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MLK, Jr., JLC and Marching for Workers' Rights

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(l-r: Marya Axner, Regional DIrector, New England Jewish Labor Committee; Lily Sieradzki, Program DIrector, NE JLC; Aliza Levine, board member, NE JLC; Members of Mass Interfaith Worker Justice, including Paul Drake) Photo courtesy Marya Axner

January 18, 2016: Boston, MA and New York, NY – Honoring the commitment of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to working men and women struggling for better conditions at the workplace and a measure of dignity and justice, the Jewish Labor Committee continues in 2016 - no matter what the weather is outside.

Snow, ice, and below-freezing temperatures didn’t stop our passion for economic justice during this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

In Boston [above], the New England Jewish Labor Committee marched with Massachusetts Interfaith Worker Justice to support airport workers at Boston Logan International Airport. They’ve been on strike since November, trying to secure better wages, health insurance, the right to unionize, job stability, and full-time work weeks.

In New York [below] on the same day, the JLC joined with hundreds of others in Harlem, and marched from 145th Street down to 125th Street with 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East, the National Action Network, RWDSU, the Workmen's Circle, the West End Synagogue, T'ruah, Habonim Dror North America, Fast Food Forward and others in support of raising the New York State minimum wage to $15 an hour. A small klezmer band, part of the Workmen’s Circle-organized Jewish Contingent, warmed things up as people were waiting in the freezing windy street for the march to start; they accompanied us from one end of the demo to the other. Together, we stood shoulder to shoulder with low-wage workers, fighting to make Dr. King’s dream of economic equality a reality.

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(JLC placards held by l-r: Tara Bognar; Brittney Willis, JLC intern; Arieh Lebowitz, Associate Director, JLC) Photo courtesy The Workmen's Circle, by Avia Moore