AFL-CIO leads a march that warns of "Romney's America"

Multiple sketches involved a man in a plastic Romney mask who used money taken from "the average worker" for political ends or to pay off his friends in suits.


There was a a large group of people surrounding the actors; yet the actors remained autonomous, seamlessly cutting through the crowd as they performed skits that had more of a comedic feel than one of anger.


Dennis Bonilla, a retired letter carrier from Ormond Beach, Fla., is outraged by the Republicans' proposed plan for mail to no longer be delivered on Saturday.


"I'm out here to protect workers' rights. I'm a retired letter carrier. I've done 30 years of government service and now they want to do away with the postal service, which is wrong. America needs the postal service. They need six-day delivery," he said.


Bonilla thinks the blame should be put upon the Republican Party's treatment of organized labor.


"We are labor unions, people working together in their own best interest. Now Republicans are trying to destroy that at every level. They've done it in a multiple of states: Wisconsin for one, Pennsylvania another, Florida another. They're going out after people who organize in their own best interest and attempting to vilify us," he said.



Josh Anijar, the communications director for the Florida AFL-CIO, led the march. Anijar said the point of their actions was to "highlight the inequities that would be occurring" if Romney wins. He admitted that both parties have flaws, but thinks that what Romney and Ryan represent is dangerous to the average American.


"Between the two candidates there's a stark comparison on where they are on middle class jobs, where they are on working families, and where they are on the least among us. Y'know, social safety nets. We don’t want more privatized, Wall Street everything. Those differences are why we’re out here today and to have solidarity with working families from across this nation and throughout Florida," he said.


The march finished with a reading of the Second Bill of Rights — a list of citizens' rights originally proposed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1940s to ensure fairness in the lives of working Americans.

click to enlarge Protesters act out the aftermath of Republican touted voter I.D. laws - Joshua Santos
Joshua Santos
Protesters act out the aftermath of Republican touted voter I.D. laws

This past Wednesday, the Florida AFL-CIO — and other unions from across the state and country — showed their anger toward the Republican Party.

About 200 protestors marched from Brush and Washington Streets to the "free speech zone," focusing on what they perceive as the war on unions that's being waged by the Republican Party.

The makeup of the protest was much different than the ones seen earlier this week. It consisted of middle-aged workers from various trades, and had little involvement from the younger "Occupiers." Putting a twist on the march, the protesters re-enacted scenes from "Romney's America" —: a warning of what they believe will happen if the Romney-Ryan ticket is successful.

The marchers would stop, form a circle, and the leader would yell out a situation like, "Having your voice heard as a worker." Then actors in various costumes would act out an imaginary post-Romney world.

click to enlarge Protesters act out the aftermath of Republican touted voter I.D. laws - Joshua Santos
Joshua Santos
Protesters act out the aftermath of Republican touted voter I.D. laws
  • Joshua Santos
  • Protesters act out the aftermath of Republican touted Voter ID laws

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