(Jessica Warriner / Gothamist)

An estimated 15,000 workers rallied in Manhattan last night as part of an ongoing struggle to lift themselves out of poverty. But the high-profile demonstration backfired on activists when TV's Alec Baldwin experienced some difficulty going about his important business. Can't these people stay in their free speech cages over on 11th Avenue? While covering last night's protest, Gothamist reporter Jessica Warriner spotted the Miami Blues star protesting the protest on West 47th Street and Broadway.

Baldwin said that while he supports the whatever, it shouldn't get in the way of important New Yorkers like Baldwin going about their business during rush hour. Please note: the Thomas & Friends: Engine Friends narrator says activists should protest "somewhere where they're not going to block the rush hour here in Manhattan at 6 o'clock in the evening. That's a terrible idea. Life in New York is hard enough as it is. I know that when the Occupy Wall Street movement did this, the cops beat the hell out of them. Do you see any cops beating these people up now? Why do you think they're not?"

And with that cryptic koan, the Heaven's Prisoners star withdrew into the sanctity of his chauffeured car and was driven far away from the workers' "terrible idea."

But the Knots Landing star wasn't done micromanaging a protest movement that drew 100,000 protesters to the streets yesterday! To make doubly sure the world heard his message about when and where political demonstrations are appropriate, Baldwin took to Twitter, where he does his best work:

In summation, indigent protesters must stop dissolving this great city's ethos by putting their needs for a living wage ahead of Alec Baldwin, whose life is hard enough. Please disperse to Brooklyn at once before he's forced to start tweeting again.

For more on Baldwin's hard day, we turn to his Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within co-star Steve Buscemi: