Rally at Reagan National Airport features protesters and presidential candidates

The event started with people marching in circles yelling “one job should be enough” while wearing red T-shirts and holding up signs with the same rallying cry.

They then gathered around Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib to listen to her speech before marching to the first terminal before the event. She was greeted by chants of “Si se puede,” and then announced to the crowd, “We are the squad,” a reference to the moniker assumed by the group of four liberal congresswomen President Trump has lately been attacking.

Also in attendance were Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

An American Airlines spokesman, Josh Freed, told the Washington Examiner in a statement, “American respects the right to free association and collective bargaining. Our catering vendor is negotiating with the union that represents its employees. American is not involved in these negotiations and does not control wages at its catering vendors.”

Alisa Gallo, the 28-year-old communications director for Unite Here, told the Washington Examiner that she was very excited to see the activism and support from the presidential candidates. “It’s been awesome to see an outpouring of support from so many legislators.” She declined to declare support for a specific candidate.

Nelson Robinson, a 40-year-old who had been working in the airport industry for 10 years, said that he came to support his “brothers and sisters” to help get better pay rates and better insurance. “Healthcare is very expensive,” Robinson said, and claimed that he has to pay “$60 out of pocket” to see a specialist and get medicine.

Robinson said he hoped that any presidential candidate would “be powerful.”

Catarina Correia, a Massachusetts native, indicated her support for Sanders while wearing a Bernie T-shirt. “I think he has been fighting the fight longer,” she asserted, also pointing to his positions on foreign policy, saying he was “more willing to be critical of Israel” than his other opponents.

The protesters then marched after hearing a few more speeches and gathered in Terminal A for a guest list of speakers, all of whom indicated their support for “a living wage” as well as their disgust at what they termed “corporate greed.”

Sanders claimed that at a time when profits for corporations were at “an all-time high,” it was not right that many were still not receiving a living wage.

Warren stated that they were in a crisis, and that the American people have “two choices: back down or jump in the fight. Who wants to jump in the fight?”

While the other candidates did not elaborate much on their positions, de Blasio made an effort to explain his ideas, presenting his plan as a “bill of rights for workers.”

“The government has been on the side of the 1%,” de Blasio explained. “The federal government’s mission today is to make the rich richer.” He also touted his experience implementing the $15 minimum wage and his other liberal policies in New York City.

The event included other speakers, including the president of Unite Here, D. Taylor, who indicated that the organization was “in no rush” to endorse a candidate.

After hearing all of the speeches, one attendee indicated his support for Sanders. “I just thought he understood our struggle more,” he said. “I was not unimpressed by anyone, but I particularly liked him.”

Unite Here has said they will continue to fight until they get what they want. At the end of the event, they indicated they would soon host another event at Dulles Airport.