GRANITE CITY – As Labor Day weekend approaches, community members are looking for ways to celebrate the three-day weekend and honor the labor movement.
The Granite City Labor Day Parade and Picnic will mark the holiday with a parade through downtown Granite City, followed by a picnic for union families in the community. Dean Webb, president of the Greater Madison County Federation of Labor (GMCFL), explained that the GMCFL has sponsored the event for several years.
“It gets all the union families together and a little camaraderie between unions,” Webb said. “We just get out there and show the pride of being in a union and what we’ve done for the city and what working people have strived for over the years.”
The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. at Niedringhaus and State Street in downtown Granite City. Webb said the steelworkers attend “in very large numbers,” but there are also carpenters, electricians and many more skilled workers who are represented in the parade.
The parade will continue through Granite City to Wilson Park, where GMCFL will host a picnic for union families. There will be refreshments and hotdogs for union members and their loved ones.
This year’s parade marshal is State Representative Katie Stuart. Webb is looking forward to celebrating Labor Day with the community.
“We just appreciate everybody coming out,” he added. “We love to see a big crowd and support from the community, and we look forward to being there.”
