The April 25 demonstrations in Washington and San Francisco were a powerful refutation of the image of the "post-1960" age that the publicists of the right have been trying to build up for a decade. Even the estimate of 75,000 given by the International Herald Tribune is massive enough. But estimates by supporters of the demonstration ran up to 150,000. At the height of the anti-Vietnam war movement few demonstrations were bigger than that. International Viewpoint • May 18, 1987
In the first place, the demonstrations included a large contingent of unionized workers, far greater than the anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s. Reporters for The Militant — the newspaper that reflects the point of view of the Socialist Workers' Party, an organization in fraternal solidarity with the Fourth International - estimated that union contingents represented about 20 per cent of the Washington demonstration.
William Winpisinger, president of the International Association of Machinists, marched with his union's contingent. Several thousand workers joined with the contingent from the New York City Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees Local 1199. The largest contingent, according to The Militant, was from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). In New York City alone, District 37 of AFSCME had chartered 70 buses for the demonstration.
"Look at all the unionists!"
"As the cheering, banner-waving hospital workers strode by, they had an impact on other marchers," The Militant wrote. " 'Look at all the unionists,' said one man."
There were 19 union presidents among the endorsers of the action. The trade unionists backed the mobilization and came out on April 25 despite a letter from AFL-CIO president Lane Kirkland and local AFL-CIO bodies ordering them not to endorse the Washington and San Francisco actions. This letter was also backed up by a red-baiting campaign