Volunteers spend Labor Day giving back

For many hard-working Americans, the Labor Day holiday is a three-day-weekend filled with cookouts, cold beverages, splashing in the pool, nature walking, hiking, fishing or camping and maybe taking in a fireworks display.

But for a large group of union workers and other workers from various sectors, Labor Day weekend 2020 was about using the strength of their backs and the sweat on their brow to make a difference in Greater Pittsburgh communities.

With the cancellation of Pittsburgh’s Labor Day Parade as a result of coronavirus pandemic restrictions, local union members and other members of the Allegheny County Labor Council decided to participate in a weekend of service, including an outdoor workday in Renziehausen Park in McKeesport.

The ACLC said the service projects were meant to “honor frontline workers and highlight organized labor’s commitment to serve our communities and take care of those in need.”

Union workers on Friday held a food distribution at PPG Paints Arena in partnership with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, on Sunday beautified a veterans memorial in Crafton Heights and on Monday participated in a Labor Day Mass at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Oakland.

“While we can’t have our usual Labor Day celebrations this year, we are embracing this opportunity to honor the frontline workers who are helping us get through this pandemic and to show what organized labor is all about: serving our communities and taking care of people in need,” ACLC President Darrin Kelly said.

The ACLC is a local branch of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations that represents the collective interest of its affiliated unions and of the working people of Allegheny County.

City Administrator Thomas Maglicco said McKeesport officials and city workers labored side by side with members of the ACLC on Saturday morning at Renzie Park on projects such as fall planting, installing a new border at the bocce ball court, replacing wood on picnic tables and benches, painting doors and entrances at the Renzie Senior Center, painting trash cans and mulching one of the park entrances.

“Individually, these may seem like small tasks, but together, they instantly improve the appearance of our already extraordinary park,” Maglicco said. “We appreciate the work these volunteers will accomplish. This, in turn, will allow our parks staff to dedicate their time to day-to-day operations and larger-scale projects.”

Mayor Michael Cherepko helped with several projects Saturday and was joined by Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald in breaking in the newly renovated bocce ball court.

“My administration’s motto always has been ‘Working Together for a Better McKeesport,’ and projects like this illustrate what it means to have a variety of organizations and community partners working toward the same goals,” Cherepko said. “I want to thank the Labor Council for assigning a crew to work in our beautiful regional park, and I especially want to thank the local union members who aligned their hometown with this volunteer effort.”

The mayor said Renzie Park is the recreational centerpiece of the City of McKeesport. It is a regional park supported by the Allegheny Regional Asset District. The City of McKeesport utilizes RAD funding and its own budget to support annual operations and programming at Renziehausen Park, marketing it as a family-oriented destination for a variety of recreational activities including pavilions and picnic shelters; baseball, softball, dek hockey, tennis, and basketball facilities; and a spray park.

State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, also volunteered Saturday and said the act of volunteerism made by around 100 people doing hard work at Renzie Park pays tribute to the park’s history.

“All of your forefathers built this park, and it’s a great facility,” Brewster said. “To have all of you here today — some of you, third- and fourth-generation union workers — to help us clean it up and refurbish it is really an historical event.”

State Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, also broke a sweat volunteering Saturday. “It was phenomenal to have (the ACLC) in the 35th District to help beautify Renzie Park,” Davis said. “Special thank you to Labor Council President Darrin Kelly for his leadership.”

McKeesport resident and former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Cynthia Baldwin volunteered at the park’s Pinoak Drive entrance with family members and others. They cleared weeds, spread mulch and planted fall flowers.

“In this time of the pandemic, it is fabulous that labor has come together to serve the community because that’s what unions have always done,” Baldwin said. “And it’s great to see so many young people here, because we are teaching them to serve the community.”

McKeesporter Larry Bridges, who is a member of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 95 and founder of the Another Shoulder nonprofit, brought his granddaughter Jourdin Allen to volunteer.

“This is a great project for all of us,” Bridges said. “Normally, we would bond with our Labor Day parade, but I’m happy to have everyone here in McKeesport.

“This is my home, and this is something I do anyway, and it’s a pleasure for me to participate alongside fellow union members.”

Kelly, who is president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1 Pittsburgh Firefighters, remembers visiting Renzie Park for family picnics as a child and was glad to volunteer Saturday.

“Today was amazing,” he said. “This was day two of our weekend of service, and we are so glad to be out in the Mon Valley giving back to this great community.”

Kelly said ACLC members are hoping that others will see the value and impact volunteering can make on a community and will choose to give up some of their own free time to give back in the “same spirit of service and commitment to our communities.”

“We ask that people find some way to give back and help others,” he said. “Whether that’s donating to the Food Bank, organizing a neighborhood clean up, or even the simple, kind gesture of checking on an elderly neighbor, we are all in this together, and it’s never been more important that we all take care of each other.”