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Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Baton Rouge church commemorates anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday'
BATON ROUGE, La. (LOUISIANA FIRST NEWS)—On Sunday, a service commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March was held at Wesley United Methodist Church on Government Street, bringing together many people. 'Bloody Sunday' 60th anniversary marked in Selma with remembrances and concerns about the future The service focused on the historic 1965 march in Alabama, during which people protested voter discrimination. Local leaders, including Emad Nofal, Chairman of the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge, emphasized that the service not only honors the past but also points to a better future. 'Love must be strong enough to confront injustice today. As we remember, Selma is not only part of the past, but after we build a future where we march hand in hand,' said Nofal. Following the service, attendees marched to the Louisiana State Capitol, using the anniversary to draw attention to voting concerns in the state. 'In which these amendments were conceived were essentially in secret and what we're saying now is that as the Selma to Montgomery march, as the that particular movement indicated, that the power is in the hands of the people. We need to remind our legislative leaders that the people are the ones that should be involved in creating especially things that we need to add to the constitution of the state,' said Reverend Dr. JC Richardson. Richardson hopes that events like the service and march will unite the community and lead to positive change in the state. 'We're better together and that's the whole goal to kind of make sure that there are elements in this march that repeat the unity in the diverse city that we believe was evident at the Selma to Montgomery march,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CATS workers strike through Mardi Gras as ATU International President visits to show solidarity
BATON ROUGE, La. (LOUISIANA FIRST NEWS)— CATS workers remain on strike, demanding a fair contract and improved working conditions. On Tuesday, they lined up with signs, ponchos and tents outside the CATS bus station on Florida St. Baton Rouge bus drivers strike over safety, CATS ensures service 'Safety is the number one issue for me and my drivers. We want to make sure we go home in the afternoon. We don't want to be insulted or assaulted, and we want our company to stand behind us when those things happen,' said Inez Bowie, executive board member of Operations at ATU Local 1546. Despite the festive atmosphere of Mardi Gras, Bowie joined other CATS workers on the strike and said that as a CATS employee, it's important for her to let her voice be heard. 'We don't want to be out here. Today's Mardi Gras, we're festive, we'd prefer to be at the parades, enjoying time with our families, but at the end of the day, this is my family,' she said. ATU International President John Costa also joined the strike. He stopped in Baton Rouge from Washington D.C, emphasizing the importance of supporting CATS workers and their fight for a fair contract. 'Heartening to me to see my members walking off the job and I'm very proud of them because the company took a position that we were dealing fairly and we thought we were going to go to arbitration and settle this the right way and continue to work. But they chose to change the contract,' he said. 'They should've left everything in place and we wouldn't be here.' CATS Issued a statement ahead of the strike, saying they had plans to minimize disruptions and provide bus service for its passengers. Costa expressed hope that CATS management and the union could reach an agreement soon. 'They chose to change discipline, the grievance procedure, which is totally disrespectful,' he said. 'We feel this is illegal, we're asking them to take put the contract back as it was and let's go to arbitration like the contract shows and see and battle it out there.' Until then, Costa urged continued support for the workers and encouraged the public to speak out. 'To the riders were sorry to say that there's this is going on and we ask them to support us and make a phone call to this general manager and tell him to do the right thing. And also to the board and also any politicians that are supporting this, we appreciate that and would urge them to do the same,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
