To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

Many protesters started the day alongside immigration advocates at Union Square and marched down Broadway to the unions rally in Foley Square.

Organizers said they joined forces to fight animosity against unionized workers and growing calls for cutbacks to their benefits.

They rallied against Wisconsin's controversial law that banning public sector unions from collective bargaining. They also protested Arizona's immigration law, which gives police there the right to ask for documentation, and called for a path to citizenship.

Unions have faced widespread criticism for refusing to renegotiate contracts as states try to cut costs.

Demonstrators were worried about expected layoffs when Mayor Michael Bloomberg releases his budget this week.

"We've fought long and hard for the right to organize, and it's not something that we're going to give up easily," said one protester.

"We want legalization, we want the deportation to stop and we want a better, comprehensive reform,” said another.

"The workers that fought and died for unions to exist, that by the way gave birth to the middle class in the country, who were they? They were immigrants. They were immigrants from Italy, they were immigrants from Ireland, people who came here looking for a better life. So today is just a repeat of the same story," said a third.

People who attended both rallies said both issues of immigration and workers' rights relate to quality of life.

The demonstration was largely peaceful, with the exception of at least one isolated incident, when a group against amnesty for undocumented immigrants scuffled with demonstrators. A large police presence kept the conflict from getting out of control.