Anita Gallagher spotted a marcher in yesterday's Labor Day parade holding a sign that told voters to give President Bush the "pink slip."

Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Teresa Heinz Kerry, second from left, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry, walks down Grant Street with labor and government leaders during the Pittsburgh Labor Day parade yesterday. From left are Jack Shea, president of the Allegheny County Labor Council; Heinz Kerry; Sylvia C. Wilson, vice president of the Allegheny County Labor Council; Gov. Ed Rendell; Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato. Click photo for larger image.

She promptly pulled out a pink slip of her own to wave back as she stood on the Boulevard of the Allies watching Pittsburgh's annual parade Downtown.

Gallagher, a McCandless resident and volunteer for Democratic candidate U.S. Sen. John Kerry, was one of many who turned out to see Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, march in the parade.

The result was not only a three-hour queue of union members and marching bands but also, in large part, a Kerry-for-president rally.

"I'm biting my tongue. I don't want to get mugged," said Bill Kirk of Franklin Park, a Republican who came to watch his son, Ryan, captain of the drum corps, and the rest of the North Allegheny High School Band.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Throngs of union members walk past the reviewing stand on the Boulevard of the Allies during Pittsburgh's annual Labor Day parade yesterday. Click photo for larger image.

The parade, which started at 10 a.m., stretched from Mellon Arena through Downtown streets to the end of the Boulevard of the Allies. The traditional balloons and babies and even some dogs lined the sidewalks to watch the marchers.

Marching along with Heinz Kerry were Gov. Ed Rendell and Jack Shea, head of the Allegheny County Labor Council.

They were preceded by a group of bagpipers and an ROTC group from Duquesne University that carried a large American flag.

The early crowd that lined up was quiet but picked up steam when it spotted Heinz Kerry. The cheering started in earnest on Grant Street, with some yelling, "You go, girl."

Signs included "How many billions and he got the wrong guy. Vote for Kerry" and "Teresa for first lady."

Yesterday's weather encouraged many bystanders, including Yvette Russell of Stowe, who brought her daughter Jayla to enjoy the festivities.

"It's a nice day," she said. "It's been a long time since I came down here to see a parade."