Retirees Join Workers in Labor Day Parade

Marcus Lim
Sep 9, 2018 · 3 min read
Marvin Goodman, 91: “I am so active, old age doesn’t have a chance to catch up to me.”

Marvin Goodman, 91, has been a union member of various groups, including the Labor Religion Coalition and the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, since his teens. Now a retiree, he still continues to be an active member of the two unions, and as an executive board of the Alliance For Retired Americans. On Saturday, Goodman is marching in the annual New York City Labor Day Parade, the same parade where he has marched in nearly every year for the past 70 years.

“We want to honor people who contribute to labor history during the years, it is so important to remember what unions have done for us that. This march symbolizes that,” said Goodman. “I may be 91 years old, but I am so active. Old age doesn’t have a chance to catch up to me.”

Goodman was marching with the New York Labor History Association, the first time the organization has marched in the parade. The NYLHA has chronicled the history of labor unions and their respective achievements since 1976 and holds annual award ceremonies to celebrate them.

There were hundreds of retirees like Goodman among the thousands of young people at the parade on Saturday. Marchers said that labor unions are the last line of defense for workers against unfair labor practices and government regulations.

According to Gallup, 62% of people age 55 and above support unions.

“It’s important to show the public that unions are strong, and me being here helps. I also want to show them that retirees thank the unions for all the benefits,” said Mark Kauffman, a 65-year-old who walked with the Jewish Labor Committee. “We get to show solidarity with labor past and present.”

The Retirees Association of DC37 marched to protest against the rising costs of pharmaceutical drugs, saying that the prices are “too damn high.”

The Retirees Association of DC37 came out to protest against rising cost of drugs, saying that the working-class family has to choose between paying for their rent, food or prescription medications.

“Just because we retire doesn’t mean we retire from life. We still are active and want to fight for a more just society, and we don’t want the rich to reap all the benefits and leave nothing for us,” said Neal Frumkin, vice-president of the union. “Prices for drugs are going higher and higher and we want to make a stand. The prices are too damn high.”

Neal Frumkin has marched in the same parade ever since his children were little. His youngest is now 37 and a union member in Chicago

Frumkin, 71, is encouraged by seeing many of the younger generation, including approximately 100 children, march and hold banners alongside their parents. There were slightly more than 100 unions at the parade chanting slogans such as “NYC is a union town.”

“We are still here, it is an intergenerational fight, the same issues we are facing today, they will be facing tomorrow. The same issues they fight today, we fought yesterday,” said Frumkin. “Together we are a river. We may be in different places along the river, but it is one river. The same river.”

Labor New York

Covering jobs and the economy in New York City

Marcus Lim

Written by

Transit and transportation reporter for Columbia Graduate Journalism School

Labor New York

Covering jobs and the economy in New York City

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