Their feet may have been pounding the pavement in Windsor's annual Labour Day Parade, but many of those taking part had their minds in Mexico City where trade talks continue.
"Yesterday there were Mexican workers out in the streets, fighting back against the inequality they've faced," Essex MP Tracey Ramsey told those assembled at the Fogolar Furlan Club after the parade. "We've bled jobs out of our country. We've bled jobs out of this county."
Essex MP Tracey Ramsey speaks at Labour Day Rally September 4, 2017. (Photo by Adelle Loiselle)
So far, those close to North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations say agricultural protections and Canada's supply-management system have been the source of head-butting between negotiators.
"I can promise you that going into a NAFTA renegotiation, I will be bringing all of your voices and fighting as hard as I possibly can for working people to be front and centre in any renegotiation of this deal," said Ramsey.
Another speaker at Windsor's rally, Father Bill Capitano warned against continued cuts to social programs, reminding the labour community of how working Canadians suffered soon after the original trade agreement was enacted.
Father Bill Capitano at Labour Day Parade September 4, 2017. (Photo by Adelle Loiselle)
"If a parent denies a child food, drink or social security, we call that child abuse," he told the crowd. "If government does the same, we simply call that balancing the budget."
Capitano also drew attention to continued tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. North Korea detonated a hydrogen bomb Sunday, less than a week after firing a ballistic missile over Japan. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley says the country's actions suggest Kim John Un is "begging for war."
"If you're a prayerful person, you might say a prayer for peace and love," Capitano urged.
There have also been successes locally in the past year.
At the Essex Engine Plant, 140 laid off workers finally returned to the job after a decade.
"Actually, we had someone call us at the hall thinking it was a joke," says new Unifor Local 200 President, John Dagnolo. "I said yeah, yeah, it's true. He was almost in tears."
90 more workers remain on layoff, but Dagnolo says the union hopes to have them back on the line too.
"95% of the membership that got called out that have been nine-and-a-half years, they came back. What does that tell you about the outside," he says. "There's not a whole lot of jobs out there that pay the wages and the benefits that they do at the Big 3."
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