Brooklyn pre-dawn rally, massive Manhattan action draw thousands.

Grey skies, a deluge and a steady drizzle didn’t dampen the spirit of the Fight for $15 yesterday in New York City. On Tuesday morning hundreds rallied in downtown Brooklyn where they were joined by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. In the evening, thousands marched and rallied at events in downtown Manhattan. The events were part of a nationwide day of action in cities across the country where workers from every sector demanded justice, equality and a $15 minimum hourly wage. Even those who currently make more than $15 turned out to show support for their sisters and brothers struggling to make ends meet on $8.00 an hour.

In New York City’s Foley Square just shy of the city’s Financial District - where corporations continue to reap record profits and executive pay goes unbounded – a massive and diverse of gathering of workers rallied and kicked off a march to demand a raise in wages for a decent life for themselves and their families. Among them was a contingent of hundreds of 1199SEIU members whose vivid yellow ponchos shone brightly under dense rainclouds.

“We’re here because we don’t make enough – too many people don’t make enough,” said Alberto Villalba, a Rite Aid worker. “Who can get by on $8.75 an hour? It’s time to change things.”

Among the speakers at the rally were 1199SEIU Pres. George Gresham, a host of community organization representatives, elected officials and New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo who made the historic announcement of the unilateral establishment of a $15 an hour wage for all state public workers in New York. Cuomo announced that he’ll use his executive authority to increase state workers’ pay to $15 an hour by 2018. The move puts New York State at the forefront of the movement to raise workers’ wages.

In his remarks, Cuomo called New York “the progressive capital of the nation.” The raise for New Yorkers was a matter of economic justice, he said because “we fight for fairness, we fight for justice, we act first, and we lead by example.”

At the rally, which was the starting point for a march to Wall Street, 1199’s homecare workers were out in force. Harriet Livan, a home health aide with the Premier Agency came with her younger sister Jasmine, a high school senior, and her grandmother, Vorentor Morris, a retiree from Manhattan’s Beth Israel Medical Center (now Mount Sinai Beth Israel).

“It’s important for my granddaughter to be here because the homecare workers make so little and they are struggling,” said Beth Israel retiree Morris. “They are in the same place the hospital workers were in a long time ago. And that’s why I want them to see and get involved in the struggle. We know where we came from and god bless 1199 for that. We know what’s possible.”

Apolonia Alvarez, a delegate from New York City’s CABS marched with a group of her co-workers. They were cheering, chanting, and waving glow-sticks in the misty night air. Walking behind a giant brightly lit 15 carried by the visual art troupe The Light Brigade, Alvarez and her co-workers waved their own signs and joined in the chants of “What do we want? 15! When do we want it? Now!” and “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! $8.75 has got to go!”

“I pay $800 a month rent and $10 an hour isn’t enough. I have to wait until the end of the month to pay my rent. It’s not good. I work hard. I have high blood pressure. I can’t walk that fast,” said Alvarez. “My landlord sends letters to my house. It’s embarrassing. Sometimes I have to call my children to help me pay my bills because I don’t make enough. This is why I’m here tonight. It’s time for us to get paid so that we can pay our bills.”