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Thousands Of Teamsters March In New York Labor Day Parade
Thousands of Teamsters in New York participated in the annual Labor Day parade on Saturday. Members from local unions representing a variety of industries including construction, motion picture, theatrical trades, warehouse, public services, sanitation, parking, brewery, soft drink, freight, funeral, moving and printing participated. In each of the local union contingents members held the new “Let’s Get America Working – Union Strong, America Stronger signs. And, at the front of the Teamster contingent was a group of horse carriage drivers representing Teamsters Local 553.
“We want to thank all of our brothers and sisters for their support of the horse carriages in New York,” said Stephen Malone, a member of Local 553 and a second-generation horse carriage driver. Leading the carriage was Tyson, a beautiful 8-year old horse which is one of the 220 horses working in New York.
George Miranda, President of Joint Council 16 was one of the Grand Marshalls of the parade. He said, “We are New York City. This city depends on the labor movement.”
Members and officers from joint council 16, locals 210, 237, 282, 553, 707, 808, 812, 813, 814, 817, 831, 917 and GCC 1-L were part of the parade, many of whom had participated for years. “This is my 25th Labor Day parade,” said Tony Caifano, Secretary-Treasurer of GCC 1-L.
In addition to the horse carriage leading the Teamsters, there were a variety of floats and parade extras that enlivened the day. Local 237’s group included a float where a jazz band played, much to the delight of parade watchers, and a Scottish marching band added color and sound of bag pipes to the festive atmosphere. In addition, a mirrored sanitation truck and a gleaming hearse were proudly driven alongside a Yellow freight and UPS truck.
Onlookers enjoyed the Teamster members, trucks and parade extras that were part of the union’s group. Miranda summed up the day by saying, “We built this city, we live in this city and we have all our investment in this city. It’s a great day to show New Yorkers what the city is all about.