Teen Travel to New Jersey

On Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 my family and I took a 3-day vacation to Atlantic City in New Jersey. We also visited New Jersey to go to a rally with UAW (United Auto Workers). We went for the rally to stand up for all the casino workers, that worked in Bally’s and Caesar’s, that were being treated poorly by the administrator’s of the casinos. It was a very tiring 8 hour drive in a car. 

My family and i stayed at the Mariott Fairgrounds for the first day. After we checked and were settled in, we relaxed for about 2 hours in the hotel. I was very anxious to go to the rally because it was my first time going to a rally. 

At around 4 in the afternoon, my dad started to get hungry. So the family and I went to a supermarket to see if there was any crab or lobster that we could steam up and eat, at a good price, of course. Well, to our disapointment, there wasn’t any cheap crab or lobster. So my dad rushed the family to the dining hall where there would be salad, chicken wings, quater subs and pizza. (As you can see, my dad needs his food.) 

There were about  people of the Union that arrived at the dining hall to go protest. On the tables, there were stickers that said ” I SUPPORT: THE UAW/AC DEALERS UNION”. There were also rubber bracelets that said ” CONTRACT NOW”.

So after everyone ate, we were listening to the stories of former casino workers from Bally’s and Caesar’s. There was this one woman who got fired for giving good luck to a man. The way of giving good luck was to put your thumb on a person’s front hand. The man, who was drunk, complained to the administrators and accused the dealer of pinching him. So she got fired for it, even though they had videos that she did no such thing. 

When the speeches were given and all was done at the dining hall we left to the Atlantic boardwalk. We started rallying at around 7 PM. It lasted for one hour. At the rally, it would have a couple people with megaphones and then the rest of the group. The chantings would go like this :

Megaphone people : WHAT DO WE WANT?                                                                            

Group : CONTRACT!

Megaphone: WHEN DO WE WANT IT?

Group: NOW!

Megaphone : TWO YEARS!

Group: TOO LONG!

Megaphone : WE’RE FIRED UP!

Group: CAN’T TAKE NO MORE!

Many people that were watching sometimes came in and joined the chanting and walked with the union on the boardwalk! There were a lot of people recording the rally and taking pictures!  Our first rally lasted for about 1 hour.

For the second round, we used poster signs and whistles for an extra boost at getting attention. There were some people that were getting upset we were being too disturbing or too loud. But no one cared about what anyone else thinked. All we cared about was getting that contract. Plus, there were police officers there so no one got hurt, even if someone started a fight. When the second rally was finished, the leaders of the union thanked everyone for coming and they hoped to see them next year because they weren’t going to stop rallying until they got the contract!

Going to New Jersey for an experience like this was truly unforgettable. i learned a lesson: Don’t let anyone tell you that you CAN’T do things because if you work hard then you can and will achieve.