The Virgina People’s Assembly (VPA), a statewide coalition of labor, community and peace organizations, was formed in the fall of 2008 to sponsor a march and rally on the opening day of the 2009 General Assembly session. On Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010 the VPA sponsored a second march on the State Capitol to oppose more budget cuts and layoffs of state workers.

The rally and march came just days after outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine unveiled his proposal for the 2010-2012 state budget, which included $2.3 billion in new cuts, including the loss of 2,543 state jobs, 664 through direct layoffs, as well as slashing aid to cities and counties. The new cuts were in addition to the more than $7 billion the Kaine administration had already cut from the present two-year budget in response to declining revenue caused by the ongoing national recession.

The day began with a meeting by VPA affiliates and its allies held at St. Stephen’s Baptist Church in the city’s East End. The goals and demands of the VPA were revisited and revised through consensus by those in attendance. Following the meeting, a rally was held at Kanawha Plaza, in the shadow of the Federal Reserve Building in downtown Richmond.

Participants then marched through the city’s financial district, past the offices of the banks and corporations that the VPA charges are not paying their fair share of the state’s tax burden. The march ended at sundown outside Capitol Square. The demands of the march included: “Jobs, Peace, Justice! Don’t balance the budget on the backs of Virginia’s workers! Make the big corporations pay their fair share of Virginia’s tax burden!”

Organizers of the march and rally included: Richmond Jobs with Justice; Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality, Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged; Prisoners & Families for Equal Rights & Justice; United Parents Against Lead National, Inc.; Coalition for Justice (Blacksburg); The People United (Charlottesville); Plowshare Peace Center (Roanoke); Mexicanos Sin Fronteras / Mexicans Without Borders (Prince William County); OffBase GI Coffeehouse (Norfolk) and many individual activists.

Below are images taken during the meeting, rally and march. For more information visit the VPA Web site at www.vapeoplesassembly.org.