PITTSBURGH (AP) - An estimated 300 workers and bused-in labor activists tied up Pittsburgh traffic when they marched downtown to rally outside the corporate offices of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Monday’s rally follows demonstrations outside the same building last week when police cited nine demonstrators for trespassing.
The activists from the Service Employees International Union, which is trying to organize some of the hospital network’s workers, and others were also pressing for higher wages for cooks, custodians and other blue-collar health workers.
The activists also included students, teachers, clergy, union mine workers and elected officials.
UPMC didn’t immediately comment on the rally, but has said the network’s starting hourly wage for such workers is $11, more than the $10 minimum wage that labor activists have been pushing the country to adopt.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.