Labor leaders like Stan Hill framed the situation in South Africa and Central America as part of larger struggle for civil and human rights. In mobilizing workers for a mass rally in D.C., Hill made a link between U. S. foreign policy and domestic policy in a way that his member had palpable daily experiences. In a March 1987 article in the Public Employee Press he said, “I want our members to come out in force to protest U. S. policies that hurt working people and the poor in Central America and Southern Africa. We have to tell Reagan and the Congress that this country’s distorted priorities are hurting American workers as well. We should be spending money on education and housing at home instead of on killing Nicaraguans and supporting racists.” Hill went on to say, “justice and peace in Central America and southern Africa are serious issues for our members, not only morally but also because there will never be enough money to meet the needs of the cities while the U. S. has a $300 billion military budget.” Hill explains, “foreign policy issues cannot be separated from the daily issues of the survival we face in New York City.” In 1985 federal budget cuts sent the public health systems into a deep financial crisis. “There aren’t enough funds, Reagan says, to care for the sick –but there are billions to prop up the racist apartheid regime in South Africa and to wage senseless wars in Central America.”