SEIU's "Take Back Labor Day" rally in St. Paul

Since most of today's Republican National Convention have been cancelled, I decided to fill in some of my unexpected free time by heading over to Harriett Island east of downtown St. Paul to take a look at the Service Employee International Union's "Take Back Labor Day" celebration.

It's still going on. If you're in the area, all you need to do is endure convention-related road closures and pay $10, then you're in. On the surface, the SEIU festival was a family function--there were all sorts of activities for kids.

What caught my eye about this event was that an artist I greatly admire, Steve Earle, would be performing. I like his music, but hate his politics. At one time the Texas musician was a communist, but he's moderated his views somewhat--he's now just a left-wing extremist. "Take Back Labor Day" started today at 11am, I got there at 12:30pm, but the music, I was told by an organizer, wouldn't begin until 3pm, when Billy Bragg, an English leftist whose music I also like, would hit the stage, followed by Earle.

Most of the people I spoke with were there to see Tom Morello, former guitarist for Rage Against The Machine.

Since the shows were about two hours from starting, recorded rap tunes were blaring from the speakers--and the songs liberally used the "F-word." There were lots of kids within ear shot. At a family event.

The familiar SEIU purple-and-gold shirts were seen everywhere you looked at "Take Back Labor Day." The man on the right, however, is not a Republican, he assured me the statement on the shirt, "GOP Members, SEIU" was in jest.

Political speakers are also part of "Take Back Labor Day." SEIU president Andy Stern will speak. Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards was scheduled to address the crowd when the event was announced, but circumstances intervened.

SEIU, like most unions, supports the Employee Free Choice Act. Secret ballot elections are the final step employees take when attempting to organize a work place. The act would replace that with essentially a petition drive, which is why I call it "The Freedom To Peek Act." The Democrats strongly support The Employee Free Choice Act, Republicans oppose it. Which is why, I guess, the Workforce Fairness Institute has a booth at CivicFest in downtown Minneapolis, which is where delegates and media members picked up their credentials over the weekend. WFI opposes the act, and is giving out buttons emblazoned with the name of their website, SaveTheElection.com.

Wal-Mart is exhibiting there too. I spoke with some Wal-Mart reps, and talked about my favorable coverage of the retail giant, of which they were most grateful. We didn't talk about the Employee Free Choice Act, but Wal-Mart is strongly opposed to it.

I'll have more CivicFest photographs over the next couple of days. Also, look for some protest photographs tomorrow. I missed today's craziness, but Anne Leary was there.

Technorati tags: St. Paul twin cities Minnesota minneapolis SEIU Wal-Mart labor Steve Earle Billy Bragg Rage Against The Machine John Edwards RNC republicans politics Labor Day