The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Saturday night rallied members of United Auto Workers Local 72 to continue the fight to save their jobs.

As the featured speaker at the 30th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. program, Jackson demanded a level field for fair trade and called for the restructuring of bailed-out banks that have left millions of Americans still struggling to survive.

It was Jackson’s first appearance at the event, which could be the last as Chrysler plans to close Kenosha’s engine plant at the end of this year.

In an economic climate that has seen thousands of manufacturers close or move overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor, Jackson said workers should continue to act and not succumb to the “loser’s complex.”

Even Toyota is not immune, he said, alluding to the faulty gas pedals that have led to thousands of recalls.

“We can still make cars,” he said.

Jackson recently visited earthquake-ravaged Haiti to see that “schools became tombstones” where hundreds of thousands have died.

He noted that earthquakes in San Francisco of an even greater magnitude produced fewer deaths. That’s because the buildings constructed by American workers are sound, he said, adding that the U.S. Embassy on the island did not collapse.

“Ours is a collapse of greed,” he said, of the banks that took advantage of millions in bailout money to then give to their own, but not to the people who need it most.

Those banks, he said, had little regard for the “common people.” The government bailout empowered the rich, and as a result, poverty, home foreclosures, job losses and credit card scams abound.

Locally, he pointed to automakers filing bankruptcy so they could restructure and receive their share of bailouts but then dismissed their responsibilities to workers and outsourced jobs to other countries.

“We have ‘Cash for Clunkers’ and we can’t sell our cars in Japan. Something ain’t right,” he said.

Despite political setbacks that threaten to stymie health-care reform, Jackson said President Obama needs the support of workers.

“He needs us to act,” he said. “They (conservatives) have the tea pot. We have a cup of coffee.”

Later during a brief press conference, Jackson said the president’s strength is the people.

“Our silence leaves him unprotected, frankly,” he said. “We are hemorrhaging our jobs faster than we are creating jobs.”

To those standing in the packed union hall, Jackson said workers need to continue to march, as King did, bringing all people together to support causes that bolster the economy, health care, education and human rights.

“We can’t give up now. Don’t let them break your spirit,” he said. “I feel like going on fighting the fight. March on!”