ROANOKE, Va. – After being put on hold for two years because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, a parade for Labor Day weekend is back.
Unions from throughout the region gathered together for a march along Campbell St. in downtown to honor the everyday American working man and woman.
According to Chuck Simpson, who serves as the Vice President of Western Virginia Labor Unions, it’s great to see everyone again for a parade that has taken place every year since 2011.
“It’s invigorating. When you bring this crew together and they all sit around and talk…you realize who knows who,” Simpson said.
Since 1894, when President Grover Cleveland signed the law that Congress had passed to make the first Monday in September a holiday for workers, Labor Day has been recognized as a national holiday in the United States of America.
“Labor Day means exactly what it was intended for…started to be recognized as a holiday for workers,” Simpson said.
People along the street were given candy, pins, and brochures by a number of different unions as they marched along the street.
“We’re coming out here just to make sure the public knows that organized labor is alive and well. Also they need to be educated on what unions exist around the area and what it takes to become a part of a union as well,” said Simpson.
