Save Our Jobs Rally

I went to attend a meeting of the Anniston Army Depot temp workers who are about to be displaced and without a job. The AFL-CIO union for the depot workers spoke to the crowd of over hundred people. This rally was for saving the jobs at the depot. And I got some juicy information. Here are some pictures of the start of the rally.

After a prayer Anniston Mayor Gene Robinson spoke to the crowd and he was fired up. He told the crowd that the federal government was lying about the unemployment numbers; which I think is true. And the city council not working together to create an Commercial Development Authority for the city of Anniston.

Then the main speaker told the crowd that the AFL-CIO is pressuring congress to bring more workload to the Anniston Army Depot and not to the private sector. These layoffs are going to affect around 1000 people and families. The union is going to send a delegation to Washington D.C. to try to stop the job cuts. And there was a petition going around to pressure Rep. Mike Rogers to stop the cuts. They even said that 99% are getting the shaft while 1% is getting a gold mine. They also told the crowd that to not get discouraged. Stand up and have a voice and it is not over yet. They want everyone to send a message to Washington that this is something that does not make sense. They also told the crowd to do three things to help. One is to sign the petition going around in the room. Two is to write your own letter to send to Washington. And three is to participate in the march in downtown Anniston coming soon. These layoffs along with layoffs coming to Piedmont will total close to 1200. And no matter if you agree with unions or not. All of us in NE Alabama needs to take a stand to try to stop these layoffs. There could also be some more layoffs among small businesses that will lose business from these massive layoffs. One thing is for sure. This area is in a lot of trouble.

The meeting went well until this happened. A war veteran got into a shouting match with the speakers saying the unions are stealing money and are greedy. Security had to be called to escort him and his wife and son out. Later during the event someone said that the shouter suffers from memory problems. You won’t see these photos in the Anniston Star.