More than 50 protesters gathered Tuesday around the flagpole on the Parade Ground to protest anti-union measures and Republican proposals to slash the federal budget.
The “Defend the Dream” protest was one of more than 250 orchestrated by MoveOn.org, a national nonprofit progressive activist group, in response to the passage of a controversial bill in Wisconsin that gutted public workers’ collective bargaining rights.
“We’re here to say enough is enough,” said Joshua Bennett, a MoveOn representative who organized the protest.
The group of mostly older people gathered in the early evening as students played Quidditch and ultimate frisbee in the background.
Protestors bore signs reading “Save the American Dream,” “Weekends off? Thank a Union,” and “I can has edukashun?”
Several leaders for local activist organizations spoke at the event, including Louis Reine, president of the Louisiana chapter for major organized labor group AFL-CIO.
“When did [labor unions] become the enemy?” Reine asked. “We are defending the American dream.”
Reine criticized private retirement plans, citing a Wall Street Journal article indicating that 75 percent of 401(k) retirement plans don’t provide 80 percent of their previous standard of living.
“The only people who make money off of 401(k)s are money managers,” he said. “We are entitled to our fair share.”
  Video: Pro-Union Protest
 
Nathan Anderson, political science freshman and president of what he referred to as LSU’s Student Labor Action Project, called for union supporters to become active in Louisiana.
“We already have one of the lowest unionization rates in the state,” Anderson said. “Through the union, through unity, we can defend our rights.”
Anderson criticized “corporate hogs” and “Republicrats,” both of which were generally criticized by the speakers.
Anderson led the crowd in several chants, including a sound-off: “I don’t know but I’ve been told — Bobby Jindal is pretty bold. He’s been cutting my health care — but all he’s saying is I don’t care.”
In addition to broad criticism of anti-union measures and budget cuts, several speakers proposed radical political reforms. Gregory Esteves, speaking on behalf of a group he called the “Voice Collective,” said America’s “neo-liberal capitalism” is failing democracy.
“In a capitalist society, the powerful class is the ruling class,” he said, quoting Karl Marx. “What we need is radical change to our political structure. We need socialism.”
The “Defend the Dream” rallies were organized to “show solidarity with” protestors in Wisconsin. Tens of thousands of protestors swarmed the State Capitol for weeks in an attempt to prevent passage of a budget plan supported by Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker that would strip public sector unions of their collective bargaining rights.
The debate over Walker’s proposal caused national controversy after Democrats in the state legislature went into hiding, preventing the bill’s passage. After weeks of protests, state Republicans passed a stand-alone bill removing bargaining rights independent of the budget bill.
“They basically used a backroom movement to pass their ban,” Bennett said, to widespread cheers. “We should be inspired by what our brothers in Wisconsin are doing.”
Several signs at the protest referenced the controversy, saying, “I am in Wisconsin.”
Bennett also said the protest was aimed at challenging congressional Republicans, who have proposed federal budgets that slash public sector jobs.
“We want to tell [Sen. Mary Landrieu] and [Sen. David Vitter] that what they are doing is a dangerous threat to the American dream,” he said.
Bennett and others criticized national leaders for refusing to reduce defense spending to rein in spending.
“There is $700 billion of defense spending,” Bennett complained. “That’s six times more than the next country, which is China. If everything is on the table, everything is on the table.”
 
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Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@[email protected]