{"id":281010,"date":"2026-09-07T19:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T19:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/281010\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T19:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T19:48:09","slug":"at-city-park-ceremony-union-and-elected-leaders-push-to-bring-back-readings-labor-day-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/281010\/","title":{"rendered":"At City Park ceremony, union and elected leaders push to bring back Reading\u2019s Labor Day parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a decade since Reading\u2019s annual Labor Day parade went by the wayside, labor leaders and elected officials said Monday\u00a0 that it\u2019s time to bring the tradition back.<\/p>\n

That call for revival echoed repeatedly through City Park during the inaugural Labor Day flag\u2011raising ceremony \u2014 an event created to fill the void left since the parade\u2019s cancellation in 2015.<\/p>\n

The United Labor Council of Reading and Berks County organized the gathering with Mayor Eddie Moran, drawing dozens of union members from AFSCME, IBEW, SEIU, the building trades and other locals. The rally\u2011style event also honored three longtime union leaders preparing to retire: William Dorward, president of the Berks County Building and Construction Trades Council; Mark Pinkasavage, business manager of IBEW Local 743; and Marcia Castner, a 43\u2011year Berks County employee and president of AFSCME Local 462.<\/p>\n

\"AA union member holds a sign during a Labor Day flag raising event in City Park on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Moran opened the ceremony by noting the turnout was the largest he had seen for any flag raising at City Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really taken by the fact that there\u2019s so many brothers and sisters here to celebrate this occasion,\u201d he said, adding that raising a Labor Day flag for the first time was fitting for a city shaped by organized labor.<\/p>\n

He hinted at the parade\u2019s possible return, telling the crowd, \u201cListen, I hear there used to be some awesome parades\u2026 I\u2019m just saying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castner\u2019s decades of service were highlighted by United Labor Council Vice President Joe Scoboria, who recalled meeting her in high school in 1979 and watching her rise through AFSCME Local 462.<\/p>\n

\"LaborLabor leader Joe Scoboria emcees the proceedings during a Labor Day flag raising event in City Park on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cLocal 462, very much because of Marcia\u2019s leadership, has been one of the best for a long period \u2014 one of the best organized, one of the most productive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Jacklyn Rusnock, a Muhlenberg Township Democrat, presented a House citation to Pinkasavage, praising his 37 years in the electrical workers union and his commitment to training apprentices. Pinkasavage, who also received the Labor Council\u2019s Person of the Year award, used his impromptu remarks to urge the crowd to rebuild the parade.<\/p>\n

\"MarkMark Pinkasavage of Muhlenberg Township, a member of Local 743 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, speaks after being named the United Labor Council\u2019s person of the year during a Labor Day flag raising event in City Park on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cI started my (career) down the street at Eight and Penn for the parade,\u201d he said. \u201cI urge this group every year \u2014 build on this event and get that parade back.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Sen. Judy Schwank, a Wyomissing Democrat, reflected on Reading\u2019s long labor history, including the 1877 railroad massacre marked on Penn Street, and the decades when Teamsters and other unions marched to FirstEnergy Stadium for a community picnic. While acknowledging rising costs and changing times, she said seeing union members gather again to celebrate the people that built this country \u201cis a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwank also warned of modern challenges, including artificial intelligence and data\u2011center expansion, saying workers must protect the working conditions for people who are going to be impacted.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Johanny Cepeda\u2011Freytiz, a Reading Democrat, energized the crowd with call\u2011and\u2011response chants \u2014 \u201cWhen I say union, you say strong!\u201d \u2014 before honoring Dorward, whom she credited with supporting her first run for office and standing by her through personal hardships.<\/p>\n

Bill Dorward, president of the Berks County Building Trades, during his keynote address, said, \u201cLabor Day is the day that belongs to us, working people.\u201d BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Bill is with you, he\u2019s with you,\u201d she said. \u201cHe shows up, he stands his ground and he doesn\u2019t forget the people that he\u2019s fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dorward delivered the event\u2019s keynote, a forceful defense of solidarity and the labor movement\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cLabor Day is the day that belongs to us, working people,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was born from the blood, the sweat, the sacrifice\u2026 of working men and women who stood together and said we deserve better.\u201d<\/p>\n

He urged unions to recommit to organizing, training apprentices and raising standards for all workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen labor wins, working people win,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd when working people win, America wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berks County Commissioner Dante Santoni, a former state representative, recalled how unions backed his first run for office and stressed the need to defend hard\u2011won labor protections. He, too, endorsed bringing back the parade, calling it a cherished community tradition.<\/p>\n

City Councilman Jaime Baez Jr., flanked by Council President Donna Reed and Councilmen O. Christopher Miller and Raymond Baker, capped the ceremony by reading proclamation honoring the labor organizations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than a decade since Reading\u2019s annual Labor Day parade went by the wayside, labor leaders and elected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-281010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}