Photo: WBZ NewsRadio / Suzanne Sausville
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders paid a visit to Cambridge for a workers' rights rally alongside the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America on Sunday.
The event, "The Working Class: Fighting Back Against Corporate Greed" was held at Cambridge Common Park. Sean O'Brien, President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Sara Nelson, American Union Leader and President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, spoke at the event with Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The labor leaders talked to the crowd about corporate greed from large companies like Amazon, Starbucks, and Tesla, as well as corrupt politicians.
"Believe me those corporate millionaires get those bonuses," O'Brien said.
Sanders spoke to the crowd about the benefits of unionizing saying, "You earn better wages, you earn better benefits, you have better working conditions, and you actually understand what a pension is."
O'Brien agreed and expressed his thoughts on Corporate America.
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"When employers treat workers bad, we organized labor unions, are the only option to hold these white collar crime syndicates known as Corporate America accountable," O'Brien said.
The Teamsters have headlined a series of rallies this summer alongside Sen. Sanders. On the organization's event page, they say that while they were called "heroes" and “essential workers” during the pandemic corporate America prioritized maximizing profits.
"Now, these white collar criminals are trying to secure those profits, and they’re showing unprecedented disrespect to American workers in the process. Enough is enough!" IBT states on their website.
Teamster members at UPS have been rallying to get better benefits and wages for their next contract, since their current contract is expiring August 2023.
"If you wana help the teamsters, take on UPS and make an example of them for the rest of Corporate America so they have to think twice about taking us on, build your union," Sara Nelson said.
Sen. Sanders also shared his thoughts on the media's influence at the event, telling rally-goers to practice independent consideration.
"One of the things that the media tells us every single day, think small not big, and we say the hell with that, we're thinking big, we want to transform this country," Sen. Sanders said.
WBZ's Suzanne Sauzville (wbzSausville) has more:
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