May Day Rally Turns Into Singalong For Late Labor Leader Ken Roos

CONCORD, NH — Labor leaders, members of the faith community, state employees, and others were at the Statehouse on May 1, 2019, to celebrate International Workers’ Day. About 60 people were in attendance, including Rich Gulla, the president of SEA/SEIU 1984, Glenn Brackett, the president of the AFL-CIO, and Arnie Alpert from the American Friends Services Committee, offering speeches under the arch. The event was the opportunity, organizers stated, to show workers how much they were valued in the state.

Brackett, who spoke first, reminded the crowd of the success of the recent strike by the United Food & Commercial Workers, and observed that “when it comes to dealing with our brothers and sisters who work for the state of New Hampshire, it is time for Gov. Sununu to start respecting their work and their negotiating positions.”

Gulla was also critical of Gov. Chris Sununu and his contract negotiating team saying that the process was at a standstill due to “crumbs” being offered to state workers. He noted that the governor’s team was offering a 1 percent pay increase, beginning in January 2021, and also wanted employees to take on more of their prescription drug costs. The SEA is asking for cost-of-living adjustments, added steps to make up for concessions made in past bargaining agreements, and the development of a “respect in the workplace” policy after numerous complaints and investigations into bullying and difficult working conditions.

Sununu, in previous statements, has countered that state employees received two raises during the previous contract. He has also criticized the SEA for walking away from the table and putting their employees in the middle of “union politics.”

The negotiations have moved to a “fact-finding process” between both organizations.

Alpert gave attendees a history lesson about May Day and its connection to the state, including many – mostly women – from New Hampshire who worked to lower the working day to 10 hours nearly 140 years ago. In 1886, the eight-hour workday movement became a rallying cry as workers in large cities held strikes, he noted. One such rally – in Haymarket Square in Chicago – led to a bombing incident, killing 11 people.

Years later, Labor Day – Sept. 1 – was adopted as a holiday to honor workers, organizers noted.

The event merged from speeches and history to a singalong in honor of long-time labor activist Kenneth Roos, who passed away in late July 2018. Roos worked at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and was a colorful figure in the state’s politics.