PEORIA, Ill. – Unions across central Illinois marched through the streets of downtown Peoria for the annual Labor Day Parade on Monday.
Around 2,000 participated in the parade, which featured 39 unions, as well as high school bands.
Jimmy Dillon is one of the parade’s organizers, and is also Director for the West Central Building and Construction Trades Council. He says the parade gives a chance to celebrate the working man.
“We celebrate all these other days, but this is for the people that go to work every day; your teachers, your cops, your firefighters, your construction workers. And this is a day that gets to celebrate them as individuals and the hard work they put in,” Dillon said.
This year’s Grand Marshall was Gayla Walker, who worked as an administrative assistant for a building trades council for 23 years.
She was picked by her peers to lead the parade down Main St., and says it’s an honor to represent union workers now, and those in the past that fought for worker’s rights.
“All the way we’ve came from way back when. You get a weekend, you get benefits, you get all these good things. And all these working people realize it’s a good deal,” Walker said.
Walker says some of her favorite memories from her union career include meeting former President Barack Obama when he was running for Senate, as well as numerous fundraisers organized for local groups.
The parade route ended at the Peoria Riverfront where people enjoyed food, beverages, and live entertainment.
