The Nation : 5,000 Rally in Support of Labor Strikes

About 5,000 rallied in Pittsburgh, Pa., to support a number of labor strikes--including those at Eastern Airlines, in Appalachian coal mines and at telephone companies around the country. Members of dozens of labor unions came to Pittsburgh in buses and caravans of cars and trucks. AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland, in a letter read at the rally, urged Congress to intervene in the Eastern Airlines dispute and “to recognize the legitimate interests of working people.” He also chastised President Bush for inaction in the coal strike. United Mine Workers President Richard L. Trumka said: “They try to make us believe that each one of our disputes is a separate little blip on the screen, . . . we’re here to tell them that when it affects one of us, it affects every last one of us and we’ll stand together.”