Members of hundreds of unions are honoring labor by marching in a New York City parade laced with remembrances of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The NYC Central Labor Council's parade was held Saturday, though it commemorates Labor Day. The group says more than 50,000 union members are expected.
As the parade started to the sound of bagpipes playing "America the Beautiful," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the working men and women who rescued people and helped the city recover from the 2001 attacks.
Before a pre-parade Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, truck driver and Teamsters union member Mark Vigilante recalled hauling debris from the World Trade Center site after the attacks.
Local
While Vigilante is reflecting on his raw memories of the attacks, he says "life has to go on."
Governor Andrew Cuomo addressed the recent terror threats to New York and Washington, D.C in remarks made at the parade.
"In terms of the threat that we have," he told reporters, "I've spoken to the top ranking federal officials, I've spoken to Secretary Janet Napolitano, and yes there was a threat, and yes, it needs to be taken seriously."
"There is nothing that I have heard that should give us any cause for concern," he later added, and said he didn't want the threat to allow people to diminish the impact of the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
