California unionists protest low wages

Over a thousand union members have staged a rally in Los Angeles, California to protest against low wages and a shortage of decent jobs.

“We’re not going to pull out of this [troubled] economy by creating poverty jobs where workers do not have health insurance, and have to patch two or three jobs together to survive,” the president of SEIU local 1877 Union, Mike Garcia, told on Wednesday.

Garcia said that the United States is increasing pressure on working families while large corporations bring in massive profits.

Union officials accuse the US government of turning a blind eye on workers, with actions that may undo decades of labor improvements.

The rally also marked the 21st anniversary of Justice for Janitors Day. In 1990, during clashes between Los Angeles police and people, one protester was killed and two pregnant women lost their children.

According to the US Labor Department, the number of jobless people in the country hit 14 million in May, showing an unemployment rate of 9.1.

Some analysts believe the country’s struggling economy is suffering partly over the exportation of between six million and ten million jobs.