"Marching to protect health care, pensions, and Social Security" was the theme of Labor Day celebrations around the state, as thousands of union members showed up to show their solidarity in Detroit, Ishpeming near Marquette and Muskegon.

"The last time I looked, union members had better benefits, better pensions and better health care than anyone in the country," said AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney, to a post-parade gathering in Detroit's Hart Plaza. "The labor movement in this country is pulling up all workers. We're the ones who lift wages in this country. We're the ones fighting Wal Mart around the country. We're fighting for all the workers in America."

In recent weeks there has also been in-fighting among present and former AFL-CIO member-unions, with the United Food and Commercial Workers, Service Employees, and Teamsters dropping out of the labor federation to start their own "Change to Win Coalition."

"Yes we have challenges," Metro Detroit AFL-CIO President Donald Boggs told the same crowd. "But at the end of the day we're one big family."

IBEW LOCAL 58 members led the Building Trades/Teamsters march along Michigan Ave. in the Detroit Labor Day parade.

MICHIGAN BUILDING TRADES Council President Patrick "Shorty" Gleason addresses the audience at the Marquette/Ishpeming Labor Day celebration.