Ocasio-Cortez Spent Inauguration Day On A Picket Line With Essential Workers

  • Date: 22-Jan-2021
  • Source: Huffpost
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Middle East
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Ocasio-Cortez Spent Inauguration Day On A Picket Line With Essential Workers

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) joined food and manufacturing workers on a picket line in the Bronx on Wednesday.

The New York Democrat was spotted in her home district supporting workers at Hunts Point Produce Market, a massive wholesale operation that handles more than half the city's fruit and vegetables. About 1,400 workers, represented by the Teamsters Local 202 union, went on strike Sunday after they reached an impasse in negotiations with management for a $1-an-hour wage increase and expanded health care coverage. Management offered a 32 cent wage increase.

The New York Democrat was seen at a Bronx Costco purchasing supplies for the workers, including hot drinks and hand warmers. Other videos posted on social media show her rallying workers through a megaphone.

“When you're standing on this line, you're not just asking for a dollar, you are asking for transformational change for your lives, and for the lives of every food worker across this country, for kids or food workers across the country,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“Because there's a lot of things upside-down right now in our economy. And one of those things that's upside-down ... is the fact that a person who is helping get the food to your table cannot feed their own kid.