May 11, 2026
Local 862 Members Celebrate May Day and Join United Campus Workers To Stand Against Outsourcing
By Local 862 Member Meredith Stice
May Day was a day of celebration of Labor and Solidarity. Unions from across the state gathered together to celebrate the working class. More than 600 people gathered at Jefferson Square Park throughout the day! Members of Local 862 showed up and showed out for the event! A huge thank you to Bryan Kessinger and Gabriel Witt for making this possible for us to be apart of! From young workers to retirees, we all enjoyed a beautiful day of face painting, speakers, singing, booths, skits and more. The fellowship alone was worth stepping out to enjoy an after afternoon with our brothers and sisters across the state.
On Monday May 4th members of Local 862 went to Lexington to stand with the United Campus Workers—CWA Local 3821 and SEIU Local 32BJ. Students and allies stood alongside the workers against outsourcing!
We marched through the campus and yelled labor slogans of solidarity, making our voices heard! We were honored to be able to learn a slogan in Swahili that their workers use “Kazi na mshahara” Kazi meaning work or labor. Na meaning and. Mshahara meaning salary or wages. I know we would all be honored to stand with our brothers and sisters again anytime. |
