August 30, 2025 • 12 mins
It's been decades since Boston had a Labor Day parade, but that's all about to change. On September 1, 2025, the Greater Boston Labor Council will be putting on a parade to highlight Boston's deep connections to the labor movement through the past, present, and future. It's an event that's set to bring together union members and supporters from all over New England. GBLC President Darlene Lombos joins Nichole to talk all about it and share important planning info for parade-goers.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week right here, we come together and talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. It's good to have you back with us
on this Labor Day weekend. I'm Nicole Davis. Now listen,
we Bostonians. We love our parades, especially our duck boat parades,
(00:27):
because that means we've won something big. But we haven't
had a Labor Day parade in quite some time. On Monday,
that is all about to change. The Greater Boston Labor
Council says it will hold the city's first Labor Day
parade in decades. They're honoring Boston's deep connections to labor
through the past, present and future. Joining us now is
Darlene Lombos. She is the president of the Greater Boston
(00:49):
Labor Council. And I just mentioned Darlene. It's been a
long time since we've had a parade here in Boston,
but I'm talking since back in the nineteen teens and
twenties and thirties. Why revive this now?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, I'm very excited that we're able to honor the
history and legacy of parades that have happened in the
early nineteen hundreds. I kind of when I came to
Boston got to see these wonderful pictures of these marches
that are in black and white in some of our
union halls, and I've been saying, we have to get
back in the streets. We'd love to be able to
(01:25):
honor that celebrating of workers and do it in such
a way that people can be both very festive and
celebrate workers, but also talk about the importance of the
labor movement, especially now more than ever. It seems like
I'm saying that a lot, but how important workers and
(01:45):
worker power and worker voice and the working class are
so important in this political moment.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Sure, I mean, the labor movement these days looks very different,
but it seems like a lot of the same priorities
are still there.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Absolutely, we definitely are still fighting for basic respect and
human dignity on the job. We're fighting for better wages
and benefits. We're fighting for the humanity back into our workplace.
We're worried about all of the AI and tech, and
(02:22):
we're worried about the tech billionaires that are taking over
our government. We are worried about the CEO salaries of
many of the companies that are have run amok and
are over three hundred times the salaries of many of
our union brothers, sisters, and siblings. So we do feel
(02:42):
like the labor movement is the only challenge to the
kind of exploitation and profits over people. And we believe
that the labor movement is the exact kind of challenge
to making sure that humanity is at the center of
our democracy and our society.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
How are you all in the labor movement essentially growing
to meet the moment here with you mentioned Ai, You
mentioned all this technology that is essentially taking away a
lot of jobs from people. How are you evolving your
message to meet that moment?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Well, I think in this moment, we are reminding people
what our values are, that human beings, that workers are
what has built our cities, built our economy. We are
the drivers of that, and we want to make sure
that companies who are responsive and responsible and respect that
(03:42):
those are the kinds of companies that we want to
have in our cities and that we want to support.
And we are saying that, you know, human beings are
really very important in this day and age where I'll
give you an example the driver list cars that are
now being tested out in the Seaport district. There's about
(04:06):
seventy thousand drivers in this state, and these driverless cars
will be putting that many people out of work who
are caring for their families, putting food on the table,
putting their kids through school. These are hard working drivers
(04:27):
who have made who are trying to make a living
by caring for people, to get them to school, to work,
to doctor's appointments when they're unable to take public transportation.
We obviously support public transportation, and we really believe that
that's the fight of our lives, is to make sure
(04:48):
that human beings are the ones that are caring for
people and not robots. And these driverless cars are just
an indication of how they're not really solving a problem.
They are just providing more problems for our economy and
(05:10):
for our drivers in particular, and for our families here
who are just trying to make ends meet.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Well, then let's talk about the parade itself, because again,
this is the first one we've had in a long time.
We're talking decades at this point. What's it been like
trying to pull this together?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Well, actually, It's been a lot of fun, a lot
of work, but the kind of creativity and the excitement
and the energy that all of our unions, our union affiliates,
our union members, but also our community allies. We've gotten
a lot of support from folks like the ACLU Community,
Labor United, New England Community Project, people who are just
(05:49):
excited about supporting workers on the day that workers are
are out there and trying to challenge the administration, challenge
the the greed that has really been embedded in some
of the companies that we are trying to fight again.
So our theme is workers over billionaires. We understand the
(06:12):
political moment that we're in that workers are going to
be the ones that challenge corporate greed, have been in
the past, will be now and will always in the future,
be a standing shoulders shoulder against companies that are not
respectful of our workforce and our communities.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Well, it's going to be a real big show of
support for sure. And how many people are marching with
you in this parade.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Well, we have typically at on Labor Day, we have
we last year if you recall, might of you recalled
that the Hotel Workers Unit here Local twenty six we're
out on the picket line and we join them with
over one thousand folks that marched and around our hotels
(06:59):
to support the hotel workers, and this year we hope
to get five times as much, maybe ten times. We're
really hoping that many of our allies and our union
members and supporters will be out there both marching in
the parade and watching some of the fun stuff. We've
got union members who are dressing up as ten men.
(07:21):
Those are our sheet metal workers. We've got a brigade
of Harley Davidson motorcycle folks who have banded together from
the plumbers and machinists and ask me Council ninety three.
We've got some dancers who have been parts of the
Dominican Parade that we're excited to include. We have our
(07:44):
own marching bands that our Musicians Union will be leading
the march along with Honk and the BAM. There's a
lot of wonderful supporters that will be making this parade
both exciting, festive, but also our message being work workers
over billionaires. Will also make it militant, so we're excited.
(08:05):
I've heard the term joyful militancy that's going to meet
the moment meet the political times that we're in, people
really having the courage to come out and be joyful,
but also know that we're in a moment where we
have to challenge what's happening to our democracy.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Just how long is the parade going to be? It's
through Boston, obviously, but where are you starting and where
is this all wrapping up.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
We're going to start over at Liberty Mall on the
corner of Park Street and Beacon Street. We're going to
march down and celebrate the first public school in the
United States on School Street with their educators, sharing how
important public education is and to fight back against any
(08:51):
privatization or the cuts to public education. We'll be walking
down School Street and then hanging over to Blackrock offices,
where we know that trillions of dollars that are invested
by Blackrock go into anti union union busting companies. They
(09:12):
go into detention centers and private prisons, so we want
to draw attention to that. We also want to make
sure that we draw attention to Samuel Hall, the first
meeting for the Boston Building Trades Union Council where all
(09:34):
the guilds came together and saw that they would have
more power together and that in eighteen thirty four. And
then also want to celebrate the meeting that happened in
nineteen fifty four of the Colonial meatpackers strike where UFCW
union members work together. Instead of calling the strike breakers scabs,
(09:59):
they actually organize a multi racial union of Roxbury workers
that were being brought in to break the strike and
organized them into the union and won that strike. And
then we'll be highlighting a building where SCAU thirty two
VJ janitors have been negotiating and trying to win a contract.
(10:21):
And then we'll end up at the Federal Building to
celebrate all the wonderful work that the federal employees and
workers have been doing for this country and highlight how
this administration has illegally laid off workers. And then we'll
end up at City Hall Plaza to celebrate with some
(10:43):
wonderful music and some more speeches and some food trucks
And can you believe it, it's not even a mile long.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Wow? Okay, you know it's so funny because Greater Boston.
I think that sometimes we forget that Boston is a
pretty small city all things considered. So you are packing
quite a bit into a small space. It's just going
to be, you know, a lot of little stops, but
there's a little bit of something in there for everybody.
Because the Labor Council covers so many different types of unions.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Right, if you name a worker, we definitely have a
union for you. So we have hotel workers, we have teachers,
we have sheet metal workers, electricians, janitors, you name it.
If you're a worker, we have a union for you.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Okay, Well, how can people find out more about the
parade if they want to maybe get their union or
their group to march with you, or just to know
where to go if they want to watch it all happen.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Well, we have a lot of information online on our
website GBLC dot us. We also have a lot of
social media. A lot of our union leaders and rank
and file members are promoting this on their own social
media handles. We have some flyers that we have been
sending out, so please you can contact me at any
(11:56):
time at my email or our website.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
And again the website for the Greater Boston Labor Council
GBLC dot us. Darlene, it's been great to have you
and all the best as you bring Labor Day parades
back to Boston.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Thank you so much and thanks for having me on
the calls.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week right here, we come together and talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. It's good to have you back with us
on this Labor Day weekend. I'm Nicole Davis. Now listen,
we Bostonians. We love our parades, especially our duck boat parades,
(00:27):
because that means we've won something big. But we haven't
had a Labor Day parade in quite some time. On Monday,
that is all about to change. The Greater Boston Labor
Council says it will hold the city's first Labor Day
parade in decades. They're honoring Boston's deep connections to labor
through the past, present and future. Joining us now is
Darlene Lombos. She is the president of the Greater Boston
(00:49):
Labor Council. And I just mentioned Darlene. It's been a
long time since we've had a parade here in Boston,
but I'm talking since back in the nineteen teens and
twenties and thirties. Why revive this now?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah, I'm very excited that we're able to honor the
history and legacy of parades that have happened in the
early nineteen hundreds. I kind of when I came to
Boston got to see these wonderful pictures of these marches
that are in black and white in some of our
union halls, and I've been saying, we have to get
back in the streets. We'd love to be able to
(01:25):
honor that celebrating of workers and do it in such
a way that people can be both very festive and
celebrate workers, but also talk about the importance of the
labor movement, especially now more than ever. It seems like
I'm saying that a lot, but how important workers and
(01:45):
worker power and worker voice and the working class are
so important in this political moment.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Sure, I mean, the labor movement these days looks very different,
but it seems like a lot of the same priorities
are still there.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Absolutely, we definitely are still fighting for basic respect and
human dignity on the job. We're fighting for better wages
and benefits. We're fighting for the humanity back into our workplace.
We're worried about all of the AI and tech, and
(02:22):
we're worried about the tech billionaires that are taking over
our government. We are worried about the CEO salaries of
many of the companies that are have run amok and
are over three hundred times the salaries of many of
our union brothers, sisters, and siblings. So we do feel
(02:42):
like the labor movement is the only challenge to the
kind of exploitation and profits over people. And we believe
that the labor movement is the exact kind of challenge
to making sure that humanity is at the center of
our democracy and our society.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
How are you all in the labor movement essentially growing
to meet the moment here with you mentioned Ai, You
mentioned all this technology that is essentially taking away a
lot of jobs from people. How are you evolving your
message to meet that moment?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Well, I think in this moment, we are reminding people
what our values are, that human beings, that workers are
what has built our cities, built our economy. We are
the drivers of that, and we want to make sure
that companies who are responsive and responsible and respect that
(03:42):
those are the kinds of companies that we want to
have in our cities and that we want to support.
And we are saying that, you know, human beings are
really very important in this day and age where I'll
give you an example the driver list cars that are
now being tested out in the Seaport district. There's about
(04:06):
seventy thousand drivers in this state, and these driverless cars
will be putting that many people out of work who
are caring for their families, putting food on the table,
putting their kids through school. These are hard working drivers
(04:27):
who have made who are trying to make a living
by caring for people, to get them to school, to work,
to doctor's appointments when they're unable to take public transportation.
We obviously support public transportation, and we really believe that
that's the fight of our lives, is to make sure
(04:48):
that human beings are the ones that are caring for
people and not robots. And these driverless cars are just
an indication of how they're not really solving a problem.
They are just providing more problems for our economy and
(05:10):
for our drivers in particular, and for our families here
who are just trying to make ends meet.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Well, then let's talk about the parade itself, because again,
this is the first one we've had in a long time.
We're talking decades at this point. What's it been like
trying to pull this together?
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Well, actually, It's been a lot of fun, a lot
of work, but the kind of creativity and the excitement
and the energy that all of our unions, our union affiliates,
our union members, but also our community allies. We've gotten
a lot of support from folks like the ACLU Community,
Labor United, New England Community Project, people who are just
(05:49):
excited about supporting workers on the day that workers are
are out there and trying to challenge the administration, challenge
the the greed that has really been embedded in some
of the companies that we are trying to fight again.
So our theme is workers over billionaires. We understand the
(06:12):
political moment that we're in that workers are going to
be the ones that challenge corporate greed, have been in
the past, will be now and will always in the future,
be a standing shoulders shoulder against companies that are not
respectful of our workforce and our communities.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Well, it's going to be a real big show of
support for sure. And how many people are marching with
you in this parade.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Well, we have typically at on Labor Day, we have
we last year if you recall, might of you recalled
that the Hotel Workers Unit here Local twenty six we're
out on the picket line and we join them with
over one thousand folks that marched and around our hotels
(06:59):
to support the hotel workers, and this year we hope
to get five times as much, maybe ten times. We're
really hoping that many of our allies and our union
members and supporters will be out there both marching in
the parade and watching some of the fun stuff. We've
got union members who are dressing up as ten men.
(07:21):
Those are our sheet metal workers. We've got a brigade
of Harley Davidson motorcycle folks who have banded together from
the plumbers and machinists and ask me Council ninety three.
We've got some dancers who have been parts of the
Dominican Parade that we're excited to include. We have our
(07:44):
own marching bands that our Musicians Union will be leading
the march along with Honk and the BAM. There's a
lot of wonderful supporters that will be making this parade
both exciting, festive, but also our message being work workers
over billionaires. Will also make it militant, so we're excited.
(08:05):
I've heard the term joyful militancy that's going to meet
the moment meet the political times that we're in, people
really having the courage to come out and be joyful,
but also know that we're in a moment where we
have to challenge what's happening to our democracy.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Just how long is the parade going to be? It's
through Boston, obviously, but where are you starting and where
is this all wrapping up.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
We're going to start over at Liberty Mall on the
corner of Park Street and Beacon Street. We're going to
march down and celebrate the first public school in the
United States on School Street with their educators, sharing how
important public education is and to fight back against any
(08:51):
privatization or the cuts to public education. We'll be walking
down School Street and then hanging over to Blackrock offices,
where we know that trillions of dollars that are invested
by Blackrock go into anti union union busting companies. They
(09:12):
go into detention centers and private prisons, so we want
to draw attention to that. We also want to make
sure that we draw attention to Samuel Hall, the first
meeting for the Boston Building Trades Union Council where all
(09:34):
the guilds came together and saw that they would have
more power together and that in eighteen thirty four. And
then also want to celebrate the meeting that happened in
nineteen fifty four of the Colonial meatpackers strike where UFCW
union members work together. Instead of calling the strike breakers scabs,
(09:59):
they actually organize a multi racial union of Roxbury workers
that were being brought in to break the strike and
organized them into the union and won that strike. And
then we'll be highlighting a building where SCAU thirty two
VJ janitors have been negotiating and trying to win a contract.
(10:21):
And then we'll end up at the Federal Building to
celebrate all the wonderful work that the federal employees and
workers have been doing for this country and highlight how
this administration has illegally laid off workers. And then we'll
end up at City Hall Plaza to celebrate with some
(10:43):
wonderful music and some more speeches and some food trucks
And can you believe it, it's not even a mile long.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Wow? Okay, you know it's so funny because Greater Boston.
I think that sometimes we forget that Boston is a
pretty small city all things considered. So you are packing
quite a bit into a small space. It's just going
to be, you know, a lot of little stops, but
there's a little bit of something in there for everybody.
Because the Labor Council covers so many different types of unions.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Right, if you name a worker, we definitely have a
union for you. So we have hotel workers, we have teachers,
we have sheet metal workers, electricians, janitors, you name it.
If you're a worker, we have a union for you.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Okay, Well, how can people find out more about the
parade if they want to maybe get their union or
their group to march with you, or just to know
where to go if they want to watch it all happen.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Well, we have a lot of information online on our
website GBLC dot us. We also have a lot of
social media. A lot of our union leaders and rank
and file members are promoting this on their own social
media handles. We have some flyers that we have been
sending out, so please you can contact me at any
(11:56):
time at my email or our website.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
And again the website for the Greater Boston Labor Council
GBLC dot us. Darlene, it's been great to have you
and all the best as you bring Labor Day parades
back to Boston.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Thank you so much and thanks for having me on
the calls.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
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