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<p>In 1900, thousands came out for a Labor Day Parade in downtown Wilkes-Barre and subsequent park gathering celebrating unions, according to a published report from the time.</p><p>&#8220;Miners, teamsters, brewers, lace weavers, brass workers, iron workers, blacksmiths, all marched side by side, each having its separate union, yet all united on the principles for which unionism stands,&#8221; said an article in the Wilkes-Barre Semi Weekly Record.</p><p>The lace weavers carried banners &#8220;neatly trimmed with lace,&#8221; and young bobbin workers paraded by in white capes carrying canes, it said.</p><p>The Greater Wilkes-Barre Labor Council is trying to recapture some of this pride and spirit Sept. 3 with its 6th Annual NEPA Labor Day Celebration and Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Kirby Park.</p><p>Opening ceremonies will include a solidarity parade of members from various labor groups.</p><p>&#8220;This area has a rich history of labor and hard-working people with a strong work ethic,&#8221; said Walter Klepaski Jr., a retired member of the AFL-CIO and LIUNA. &#8220;We want to celebrate our history and at the same time educate the public about some of that history.&#8221;</p><p>The festival is free, and any proceeds will fund several local veteran projects and organizations.</p><p>At the urging of UFCW Local 1776 member Wayne Namey, a group of union and non-union citizens formed the festival committee to &#8220;continue what was started over a century ago,&#8221; Klepaski said.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of the benefits workers have today &#8212; like Social Security, minimum wage and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safeguards &#8212; all came about because of unions advocating to make the workplace safer and to improve the quality of life for all workers,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Klepaski is pushing for children to attend, saying &#8220;a lot of the younger people don&#8217;t even know what Labor Day stands for.&#8221;</p><p>To him, it is a day of recognition for the value of hard work in any position, from a janitor cleaning the floor of a building to the company CEO.</p><p>&#8220;They all have something to contribute to the benefit of America,&#8221; he said.</p><p>It&#8217;s unclear when the Wilkes-Barre Labor Day festivities ended. A June 1933 article discussed plans to hold a rally, picnic and the first Labor Day parade in at least a decade. However, a September 1939 news report said there were no Labor Day parades or mass gatherings in the Wyoming Valley that year.</p><p>The festival also will showcase young local musicians from Ron Scavone&#8217;s Music Corner from noon to 2 p.m. and from Joe Nardone Jr.&#8217;s Rockology Music Academy from 2 to 4 p.m., Klepaski said.</p><p>City-licensed food vendors interested in participating should contact festival committee member Paul Auker at (570) 592-8214.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The public is invited to the 6th Annual NEPA Labor Day Celebration and Festival at Kirby Park. Committee members involved in the planning are: (front row, from left) Mischelle Anthony, American Association of University Professors/Wilkes University; Patty Krushnowski, committee co-chair/Greater Wilkes-Barre Labor Council (GWBLC) vice president; Joe Padavan, committee co-chair/GWBLC president; Jody Weinreich, regional director, Alliance for Retired Americans/Workers United Retiree; (second row) Walter Klepaski Jr., retired AFL-CIO community services liaison/LIUNA retiree; Ron Scavone, Music Corner proprietor; Paul Auker, AFSCME Local 2605 retiree; John Thomas and Irv Weinreich, Workers United Retirees/SEIU; and Tom Bindus, Teamsters Local 401. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/web1_union.jpeg</photo0><caption0>The public is invited to the 6th Annual NEPA Labor Day Celebration and Festival at Kirby Park. Committee members involved in the planning are: (front row, from left) Mischelle Anthony, American Association of University Professors/Wilkes University; Patty Krushnowski, committee co-chair/Greater Wilkes-Barre Labor Council (GWBLC) vice president; Joe Padavan, committee co-chair/GWBLC president; Jody Weinreich, regional director, Alliance for Retired Americans/Workers United Retiree; (second row) Walter Klepaski Jr., retired AFL-CIO community services liaison/LIUNA retiree; Ron Scavone, Music Corner proprietor; Paul Auker, AFSCME Local 2605 retiree; John Thomas and Irv Weinreich, Workers United Retirees/SEIU; and Tom Bindus, Teamsters Local 401. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Teaching union history part of local Labor Day festival