Festival Pier at Penn's Landing erupted into a dancing frenzy as union supporters at the 17th annual Labor Day parade and festival caught sight of Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
Heinz Kerry addressed the crowd for only about 15 minutes, but touched on a number of issues relevant to her husband's campaign, including health care, the economy and the war in Iraq.
"There is no war worth fighting for if the people in this country are not protected in their jobs, in their schools, in their health care," she said. "Security is that which you take home. ... [President George Bush] is wrong in terms of trying to go it alone in a war we didn't need to go into and giving the American people the bill."
The crowd responded warmly to the outspoken ketchup heiress and Pennsylvanian philanthropist, who has taken some criticism lately for speaking her mind.
"I'm a woman of a certain age and I deserve my opinions," Heinz Kerry said.
The audience seemed to agree.
"I think she's wonderful," Service Employees International Union member and welfare worker Linda Murray said. "She's an articulate and intelligent woman. She speaks out and I think that's appreciated of a First Lady, any lady."
The celebration of Philadelphia's labor unions -- organized by the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Tri-State Labor Day Parade Committee -- attracted over 5,000 participants, including Philadelphia Mayor John Street.
But Heinz Kerry and Street weren't the only seasoned politicians present at the parade.
Ed O'Donnell, who was on the ballot as a presidential candidate in New Hampshire, also attended.
"I'm all for the worker," O'Donnell said. "Every American worker should make $30,000 or $40,000 a year and you do that by [cutting the pay] of CEOs. [Former Penn President] Judith Rodin and [Penn President] Amy Gutmann would make considerably less if I were president of the United States."
AFL-CIO Philadelphia Council President Pat Eiding saw the choice of inviting Heinz Kerry to the parade and festival as a simple one.
"We recognize [Heinz Kerry] as a voice of the people," Eiding said, adding that Republican Sen. John Heinz -- Heinz Kerry's late husband -- was also an advocate for labor.
Participants in the parade and festival were mostly members of the Democratic Party.
Sporting a rainbow flag reading, "We, the people, say no to the Bush agenda," around his waist was Paul Johansen, a former visiting scholar at the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
"Republicans talk about supporting workers but their votes speak otherwise," Johansen said.
