2009/05/01:WKOW 27: Workers' rights rallies on May Day - Union de Trabajadores Inmigrantes

Submitted by staff on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 1:29pm

Workers' rights rallies on May Day
WKOW 27
Posted: May 1, 2009 09:11 PM

MADISON (WKOW) -- An annual May Day immigration rally drew hundreds of people to Madison on Friday, demanding improved living and working conditions for immigrants.

Supporters marched from Brittingham Park to the Capitol. Madison has the second largest latino population in Wisconsin after Milwaukee.

Equal rights for workers was one of the key concerns among supporters. "The goal here today is to try and reaffirm the fact that workers have rights including immigrants, and we have a lot of immigrants in our community now being criminalized," said John Peck with the group Industrial Workers of the World.

Similar rallies were held Friday in Milwaukee and across the country. Although today's rally went as planned, Cinco de Mayo festivities in Milwaukee have been cancelled due to health concerns regarding the swine flu.