Mississippi Democratic Party salute to Labor Day highlights key election topics

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - On Monday at Point Cadet Plaza, the Mississippi Democratic Party held a salute to Labor Day.

Dozens of people came out not just to have something to do for Labor Day, but to talk about issues that November voting will directly impact.

Christina Mack, a Maximus Worker supporting CWA says this election involves topics that everyone struggles with, may that be school, healthcare, or your job.

“So if they decide that you do something wrong, policies change all the time. Then they let you go within a blink of an eye without ever pleading your case. That’s why this election is so important,” Mack expressed. “Because I need to be behind someone who knows how important unions are. And all these big companies say, ‘Oh, unions are just a third-party company’, you treat us like a third-party company. We might as well be your third-party company.”

Mack adds having better healthcare and wages is a hot topic, and improvements on that front would put the country in a better financial spot.

“We wouldn’t have to have so many children starving. We wouldn’t have to have adults starving. We wouldn’t have to have so many homeless people.”

She went on to say, “We’re always talking about the American dream but where is it? I don’t see it. I have to struggle like I’m in a third-world country. I have to go to the food pantry to feed me and my children and my husband. I have to rob Peter to pay Paul when it comes to lights. So with these better wages and healthcare, I don’t have to wait until the last second to see if my serious condition has progressed to cancer.”

“I want to be able to take my children on vacation. I know that’s not a need it’s a want, but if I can barely meet my needs, how am I supposed to get my wants?”

Another important point on the table was women’s reproductive rights.

“So that’s a very scary thing to think women are dying from lack of access to crucial healthcare and Republicans don’t seem to care,” 4th Congressional District Vice President of the Mississippi Federation of Democratic Women Dita McCarthy said. “So you know our bodily autonomy, I think women are really going to make the difference in this election, especially young women. And you know what, men need to worry about that too because the implications of women being forced into birth. It’s not good for anyone. It’s not good for society.”

Both women say that every vote matters, and if you think otherwise, cast it anyway.

“On Labor Day, one of the most important differences between the two political parties is the Republicans want to do away with the minimum wage and the Democrats want to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour all over the country,” 4th Congressional District Chairman Rickey Cole explained. “There are thousands of Mississippians who are working full-time and taking home less than $300 a week and that’s a shame. “And that is something the Democrats will fight to put an end to. Work has to be rewarding. In Mississippi, we’re the poorest state in the union because we pay our people so poorly.”

State Representative for House District 119 Jeffrey Hulum III says one of the big issues plaguing the communities of South Mississippi is gun control.

“We had a 14-year-old who just shot a 16-year-old, where is the gun reform on that? Where is the criminal justice reform on that we have to come back and look at this thing from a holistic standpoint collectively and see what’s right because it does not matter what side of the IOU vote on, it matters if you get shot or not get shot. Now I’m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. That’s the most important thing but we do need some type of systematic control.”

When it comes to voting, U.S. Senate Democratic Nominee Ty Pinkins says it’s not just important to vote for president, but also for state leaders who directly impact the people of Mississippi.

“Which is important, but people have to understand that presidents follow laws that are given to them. Presidents don’t make laws. They don’t make the rules. Congress makes the rules. Again overturning Roe v. Wade. A 50-year precedence that women depended on. Voting rights. They took away a part of the voting rights that weakened people’s access to the ballot. Civil rights. And now if you listen to Clarence Thomas, he’s threatening to take away people’s right to marry who they want to marry. All of that stuff is on the line this year.”

Pinkins says he’s hopeful for the future of this election and the forward progression of the nation.

Photojournalist: Michael Rodgers

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