RALEIGH - Organizers of the Moral Mondays movement are joining forces with the labor community ahead of next week's protest.  They're criticizing the General Assembly for cuts to jobless benefits that could affect 70-thousand people.

MaryBe McMillan, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO says the policies of the GOP leadership are hurting workers across North Carolina.

"We are in a rapid race to the bottom. With legislative leaders pushing policies as quickly as they can to make North Carolina with the state with the cheapest and most complacent workers."

Nearly 500 people have been arrested since late April during the weekly protests.