MARQUETTE -- Marquette General nurses gathered at Marquette's Downtown Commons on Thursday to show their support for the country's poor and hungry.

The rally was part of a national Day of Action by nurses unions to demand the adoption of their Main Street Contract.  The contract calls for the support of a Wall Street transaction tax to raise money to pay for programs that assist the poor and elderly.

A representative of the local teachers union was also on hand to speak and show support.

Local nurses said they wanted to send a message to Representative Dan Benishek to support their cause.

"We started at the Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.," said Carolyn Hietamaki of the MGH Nurses Union.  "We've been on Wall Street picketing, and now we're here in our local community saying, listen to us, we know our community, you need to listen to the people who voted you in."

Union representatives say a less-than-one percent tax on Wall Street would mean billions for education, health care and retirement programs.