Workers Rights are Human Rights

Organized by QC Federation of Labor and Progressive Action for the Common Good

On December 10th, a very cold Saturday morning, approximately 80 people turned out for this event at the Laborer's Hall in Rock Island in commemoration of the 58th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The many co-sponsors of this event included UUJEC, ACLU, NAACP - Dav and RI Chapters, PAX Christi, Churches United, Davenport Civil Rights Commission, LULAC Council 10, Working Families Win, QC NOW, QCI, SAU Amnesty Int'l, and the Scott County Democrats. The 30 re-created articles on Human Rights were posted for all to see and later donated to our church, by yours truly. We're still trying to decide on a location to display them.

Speakers included local legislators, community leaders and individual workers who shared personal testimony as well as proposed policy surrounding the issue of workers rights as it pertains to the 23rd article on Human Rights. Our own Reverend Butts gave a moving speech which seemed to resonate with all based on the enthusiastic response from those in attendance (Channel 6 showed Roger speaking to the crowd).

Three of the television stations (4, 6 and 8) covered the entire event which ran over 45 minutes and yet we still managed to collect almost 50 hand-written letters which called on federal legislators to support the Employee Free Choice Act. Thank you Amanda Elkins and Amnesty Int'l for facilitating the letter writing action.

Thank you to everyone who particpated in this event! Your contributions were invaluable!

"Human rights are our common heritage and their realization depends on the contributions that each and every one of us is willing to make, individually and collectively, now and in the future." -- Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights