Labor Updates (3/31/08)

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
DC Vote Cancels March: Plans for a Voting Rights March on April 16 have been canceled, due to the visit by Pope Benedict XVI that day. “With disrupted traffic and public safety resources focused on the Pope's visit, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for thousands of DC citizens to gather in support of voting rights on April 16,” said Ilir Zherka, DC Vote Executive Director. “It is unfortunate that District residents will not have their voices heard on this special holiday, Emancipation Day. The people of DC can rest assured that DC Vote will have a number of upcoming opportunities for residents to raise their voices.” DC Vote is already moving forward with plans for another Tax Day event to take place on April 15. “We need to keep the issue of DC voting rights on the radar and in the public sphere,” added Zherka. “DC residents pay the second highest per capita federal income taxes yet are denied a vote in Congress. They are tired of being treated as second-class citizens in one of the greatest democracies in the world.” - 2007 DC Voting Rights March, photo by Chris Garlock