Due to COVID 19 restrictions and to help ensure community health, the 2020 Bloomington Labor Day Parade is cancelled.

“The Parade has always been the highlight of our year’s labor activities, an opportunity to salute the everyday working men and women who keep our community vibrant,” said Ronn Morehead, Bloomington & Normal Trades & Labor Assembly (AFL-CIO) President.  “It was not an easy decision, but the last thing we want in the current health situation is to have large crowds gathering.”

This year’s Parade theme was to be “150 Years of Struggle: Your Right to Vote.”  The parade was to highlight the 150^th anniversary of the 15^th Constitutional Amendment, which extended voting rights to African-American males in 1870, and the 1920 passage of the 19^th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

The Bloomington Labor Day Parade dates to 1891; Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894.  The Bloomington parade tradition ended in 1927 and was revived again in 1977.   Since 1977 it only missed one year, because of a severe thunderstorm.

The Trades & Labor is exploring social media and other options to mark the holiday and give voice to workers’ concerns.

The Bloomington & Normal Trades & Labor Assembly is the American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) central labor council for unions in McLean, Livingston, DeWitt and Lincoln counties.   31 local unions are affiliated with the Assembly, which is over a century old.