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Today's criminal proceedings ended up being an all-day event, and 7News was at the courthouse the entire time. Daniel Ortiz has that story:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
All around Treasury Lane, the forty-plus BML workers who were charged last night, paced back and forth or stood around, waiting for Magistrates Court Police to call them in for their arraignment.

After about an hour or so, one of the lead employees emerged with the documents needed.

Their attorney worked on getting everything together, so that the hearing would be as streamlined as possible.

But about half hour later, she emerged from Court's Office, with bad news.

Audrey Matura-Shepherd - Attorney
"I have an update for you all, the reason they are taking so long is because they don't have a courtroom big enough to put everybody, one and two, the Police, advised by somebody in their wisdom, had advised that instead of putting everybody on one charge sheet, they will split it up. So right now the Police is at Queen Street Police Station preparing new charge sheets to give you all. So we will be out here a long time because they have 41 charge sheets to prepare. Then they will come and serve it to you again, then they will have to lodge it, then we will go to court and even the bail process will take long. So if you all have something to do, children to take care of, quickly do it and come back because this will be all day. But you need to be here to be charged and we need to make sure that the persons who will bail you are here."

So, it was a marathon waiting session for these workers, who weren't the least bit pleased with the state for bringing charges against them for simply voicing their frustrations.

Rudolph Gamboa - BML Employee
"They charge so many women and men yesterday to throw dirt, nobody did throw dirt on the street yesterday, it's the truck that did that. They charged 48 of us, they didn't charge me, because I am not a fool. Why does the Mayor doesn't pay the boss?"

Faith Flores - BML Employee
"I was ill-treated there, I was sick with asthma and they left us there in that cell, 22 of us. No lights, no fan, no nothing."

A few of them feel especially betrayed by the actions of the Mayor because they were once a part of the City Hall before he entered office.

Faith Flores - BML Employee
"I am from city council, from I am sweeping streets, we even help dig city council and here I am still standing working for them to keep this city clean."

Reporter
"What happen yesterday? Did you regret it?"

Faith Flores - BML Employee
"I don't regret at all."

Helen Samuels - BML Employee
"I do 5 years at city council. I clean drain, I dig drain, I clean the street and I never been there yet. But this year is the worst year we been through with Darrell Bradley. Why don't he pay the boss so the boss can pay us? I don't like the situation that he is doing to us because we are poor people. Every time a situation comes up and this matter comes up, its poor people that suffers. Why does it have to be us that suffers? Right now they don't want to give the boss back the contract, because they already have someone else there to take over the contract."

Beverly Hendrix - BML Employee
"We did not just come here, we have been here for a long time for them to treat us like this. The boss doesn't want to let go any of us, but if he cannot pay us... some of us are not working right now. Some of us have to sign and go home because he doesn't have any money to pay us."

Faith Flores - BML Employee
"When it was the city council, everything was running nice. This is the roughest time we ever meet under this government. Under Zanaida it wasn't like this too. They use to threaten us they won't give us this and that, but Zanaida Moya still give it to us because she is woman with feelings too."

Helen Samuels - BML Employee
"What happen to us? Every time it's only the streets they will deal with? We don't even have a sensible house to live in to show for the amount of years that we work. We don't even have anything sensible to show for the years that we work and they want to come and cut us short? What the hell is wrong with them? I want they come and pay our boss. All what we are asking for is to pay our boss."

Faith Flores - BML Employee
"Be real to us. Pay the boss so he could pay us."

Rudolph Gamboa - BML Employee
"We have to eat. School is opening up soon. I have 3 children going to school right now and I can't pay school fees yet."

Glenford Michael Bowen - Bailing Out Friend
"We are old workers, we are all black people fighting for survival. So if we can't survive what will we look on."

Mayor Darrell Bradley had lawyer business at the Court House today, and when the media asked him for an interview, he obliged. The angry BML workers took the opportunity to corner him.

They wanted him to face them, wouldn't take no for an answer

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, City Hall
"We can do the interview at city hall if you still want the interview."