May Day 2008 |
All Out for May Day 2008 Workers across the country are once again marching on May Day, International Workers Day! The vision of the working class for a world where rights are guaranteed and workers are center stage can be seen in the many slogans for this year’s actions: No One is Illegal! Defend Immigrant Rights! Defend Workers Rights! Stop the Raids and Deportations! Stop Funding Wars! Fund Reconstruction and Social Programs! and many more. The West Coast Longshore workers have called a strike for May Day, expressing the determination of the workers against the war and against the current direction of the country, which is anti-worker and anti-people, with state-organized racism and repression intensifying. The many immigrant workers and their organizations across the country have also again called for a day of marching and boycotting work and school. The internationalist spirit of the workers is being expressed, with all nationalities standing together and materials and signs in various languages. It is this spirit and vision of the working class, of all for one and one for all, of unity on the basis of defending the rights of all, that is coming to the fore. The U.S. Marxist-Leninist Organization (USMLO) salutes all the many organizations taking action on May Day and our red flags of communism will be there, flying high! We salute the workers of all countries, fighting against U.S. imperialism and for their national and social rights. In their desperation, U.S. imperialism is pursuing a path of fascism and war. Failing to secure their world empire, they are preparing to take the world down with them. It is their system that is a threat to workers and all humanity. We stand here in the U.S. saying Down with U.S. imperialism! Workers of all countries Unite! What is vital now is for the vision of the working class for a new society to be further developed and brought to life. Already that vision is evidenced in the May Day actions and in the broad stand against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It can be seen in the growing rejection of U.S. imperialist chauvinism that says only U.S.-style democracy is valid, and only with U.S. intervention can others “survive.” It is precisely this U.S. imperialism that is behind the broad economic crises facing the peoples, the skyrocketing food prices, the poverty and starvation, the racism and war. This is not what the democracy of the working class looks like! The working class stands for fraternal relations of equality and mutual benefit. It stands for the rights of all and refuses to be split along racist and nationalist lines. Ours is one struggle for the new and we are all together in building this new – new societies, new democracies, new social relationships. This year May Day follows on the heels of the Summit of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) in New Orleans, April 21-22. The SPP represents the visions of the U.S. rulers, a vision of annexation, of fascism and war. It is a vision to use the workers and resources of North America against the peoples of the world. In numerous actions in New Orleans, the peoples of the U.S. Canada and Mexico stood together to say NO! No to SPP! Yes to the Rights of All! President George W. Bush equally made clear that the government’s brutality and broad attack on the public and society in New Orleans is what is in store for all. The only role of government is to hand over all public resources to the rich, taking no responsibility for the rights of the people to housing, education, healthcare. Thousands are homeless and tens of thousands more have yet to return. New Orleans stood up to Bush and the SPP and let the rich know — building our united resistance by defending rights is the path the peoples are taking. As workers take to the streets and stand as one, many are also thinking about how to be more effective, especially in this election year. USMLO urges all to build up the struggle to reject the establishment and its political parties. Let us together advance the vision and agenda of the working class itself, including the need for a party of the working class, a single Marxist-Leninist Party, to guide and strengthen the struggle of all. Now is the time to broadly discuss the need for political empowerment, the kind of party required, the theory necessary to guide its actions, and how to use the battles of today, including the elections, to build it. We are doing this work and urge all to join in! Defend the Rights of All! Workers of All Countries, Unite! [TOP] May Day March & United Rally for Immigrant Rights Full Rights for All! Legalization Now! Stop Racist Raids & Deportations! March, Thursday, May 1 Olympic & Broadway, Los Angeles, 12 noon Join pro-immigrant organizations at a May 1 march and mass rally in downtown Los Angeles to demand full rights for immigrants. The April 7 Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, is part of a united front of all major immigrant rights organizations on May 1. There will be two marches that will unite for a mass rally in downtown Los Angeles that day. One will march from downtown and the other from MacArthur Park. Both will step off at 2 pm. This united day of action is an important step for the immigrant rights movement. The April 7 Coalition includes Latino Movement USA, ANSWER Coalition, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, Alliance of Hondurans in Los Angeles, Federation of Mexican Clubs and Organizations, Bi-National Braceroproa Alliance, Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines, People’s CORE, Casa Nicaragua and others. The May 1 actions were initiated by MIWON, the March 25 Coalition and Latino Movement USA. Full rights for all immigrants! Stop the racist raids and deportations! Justice for immigrant workers and families! [TOP]
Stop the Raids! Full and Immediate This May Day (May 1, 2008) the Frente Contra las Redadas of South Central invites you to march with us to demand a halt to the ICE Raids and to again demand Full and Immediate Legalization for All People! Our contingent will be made up of Union Del Barrio, Association of Raza Educators, Somos Raza, Comite de Mujeres Patricia Marin, MEChA de Santee, PTSA of Santee and many other community members and groups/organizations! Everyone is welcome to join with us, even if you are not from South Central! We will be marching as a big Familia! Join us! We will be starting in South Central Los Angeles at 1:00pm on the corner of Washington and Maple (in front of the Santee Education Complex). From there we will be joining with our brothers and sisters of MIWON and the other groups that will be starting at Macarthur Park and from Olympic and Broadway! Last year we organized one of the largest contingents of people to the May Day march with about 500 people joining us! This year we hope to have even more! March with us if: • You believe in self-determination and community grassroots organization! Join us on Wednesday, April 30 at 6pm in the Library of the Santee Education Complex (1921 Maple Ave. LA, California) for a banner/poster making party. We will have free food and drinks. See you all soon! [TOP] Third Grand March and Boycott Stop The Raids & Deportations That Separate Families! Cancel The Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s) NAFTA & FTAA that destroy the economies of Latin America and force millions of workers to migrate to the U.S. 10AM From Patton Park To Clark Park. Join us and demand that Congress act. • Close Inhumane Immigrant Detention Centers! [TOP] Repeal Employer Sanctions Now! The Break the Chains Alliance, a national alliance of labor, community, and faith organizations, will be issuing an open letter to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain expressing outrage at their support of stricter enforcement of the Employer Sanctions provisions that criminalize undocumented immigrants. Their support flies in the face of opposition from local and national institutions representing labor, business, civil rights, and immigrant interests, including the AFL-CIO and the NAACP. While all the candidates run on a platform of change for middle America, their support of Employer Sanctions threatens the economic security of both native-born and immigrant workers. The alliance will also be joining the march on May 1 to unite all workers against these divisive policies. WHAT: Press Conference [TOP] Rally for Immigrant and Worker Rights Stop the Raids & Deportations! Legalization Now! May Day 2008 is critically important. Will the optimism and hope expressed around the Presidential elections translate into an end of immigrant raids and deportations? Will it bring an end to the foreclosures of homes, the lowering of gas and food prices, or an end to lay-offs? Whatever the outcome in November, the May 1st Coalition for Immigrant and Workers Rights will be marching once again on May Day, International Workers Day to say no to all the attacks against workers here and around the world. We call on the progressive community, the anti-war movement, the women’s and LGBT movement, and especially the labor movement, to come out for May Day 2008. March for solidarity, because an injury to one is an injury to all! We Say: • Black, Latina, Asian, Indigenous, Arab, White — In Unity there is strength. 12 pm: Gather at Union Square, 14th Street & Broadway [TOP] Special Screening Hosted By Tribeca Film Institute Beyond Borders Documentary to be Shown May 1 The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) will hold an exclusive one-day screening in New York City of the new feature documentary Beyond Borders – The Debate Over Human Migration on May 1 at 1pm at the AMC 19th St. East theatres, 890 Broadway at 19th Street. Beyond Borders tackles the immigration debate head-on with those supportive of immigration reform in the U.S. and those very much against it. It includes people such as Noam Chomsky, and anti-immigration activists from the Minutemen Project. This timely documentary addresses some of American voters’ primary concerns in this election; immigrants, their rights when crossing the border, and how it will affect U.S. citizens. The Tribeca Film Institute will host the event, which will be screened during the second week of the 7th annual Tribeca Film Festival. A primary mission of the institute is to “create innovative programs that draw on the power of film to promote understanding, tolerance and global awareness.” Camborne Productions will be partnering with The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) to co-present the screening on May 1, the national day of action on immigration, with peaceful marches, rallies, and events happening throughout the nation. The screening is one of several events happening in NYC. Following the screening, a rally and march will begin at nearby Union Square and culminate at Foley Square in lower Manhattan. The NYIC, a coalition bringing together more than 200 groups working toward justice for immigrants, is presenting the film as part of its Truth About Immigrants campaign, which aims to debunk myths, get out the facts, and promote dialogue and understanding about today’s immigrants. Filmmaker, Brian Ging, Chung-Wha Hong, Director of the NYIC, and documentary interviewees including Michelle Wucker (of the World Policy Institute and author of Lockout), Sandro St. Jean (featured Haitian Painter and recent immigrant) will join us for a discussion panel and Q&A after the screening. More information on the feature-length documentary can be found on the web at www.beyondbordersfilm.com. For press inquiries, or to schedule an interview with the filmmakers, please contact Elizabeth Carlton at (626)818-6640 or lizbethca@gmail.com.[TOP]
We Are All Humans! No One Is Illegal! We are calling for a national day of multi-ethnic unity with youth, labor, peace and justice communities in solidarity with immigrant workers, all strengthening the immigrant rights, workers rights and civil rights movement! We are joining actions and support the following demands: 1. No to anti-immigrant legislation, and no to the criminalization of the immigrant communities. [TOP] Longshoremen to Close Ports on West Coast to Oppose War and Defend Rights While millions of people worldwide have marched against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and last week’s New York Times/CBS News poll indicated that 81 percent believe the country is headed in the wrong direction – key concerns being the war and the economy – the war machine inexorably grinds on. Amid this political atmosphere, dockworkers of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have decided to stop work for eight hours in all U.S. West Coast ports on May 1, International Workers’ Day, to call for an end to the war. This decision came after an impassioned debate where the union’s Vietnam veterans turned the tide of opinion in favor of the anti-war resolution. The motion called it an imperial action for oil in which the lives of working class youth and Iraqi civilians were being wasted and declared May Day a “no peace, no work” holiday. Angered after supporting Democrats who received a mandate to end the war but who now continue to fund it, longshoremen decided to exercise their political power on the docks. Last month, in response to the union’s declaration, the Pacific Maritime Association, the West Coast employer association of shipowners, stevedore companies and terminal operators, declared its opposition to the union’s protest. Thus, the stage is set for a conflict in the run up to the longshore contract negotiations. The last set of contentious negotiations (in 2002) took place during the period between the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the invasion of Iraq. Representatives of the Bush administration threatened that if there were any of the usual job actions during contract bargaining, then troops would occupy the docks because such actions would jeopardize “national security.” Yet, when the PMA employers locked out the longshoremen and shut down West Coast ports for 11 days, the “security” issue vanished. President Bush then invoked the Taft-Hartley Act, forcing longshoremen back to work under conditions favorable to the employers. The San Francisco longshore union has a proud history of opposition to the war in Iraq, being the first union to call for an end to the war and immediate withdrawal of troops. Representatives of the union spoke at anti-war rallies in February 2003, including one in London attended by nearly 2 million people, the largest ever held in Britain. Executive Board member Clarence Thomas went to Iraq with a delegation to observe workers’ rights during the occupation. At the start of the war in Iraq, hundreds of protesters demonstrated on the Oakland docks, and longshoremen honored their picket lines. Without warning, police in riot gear opened fire with so-called less-than-lethal weapons, shooting protesters and longshoremen alike with wooden dowels, rubber bullets, pellet bags, concussion grenades and tear gas. A U.N. Human Rights Commission investigator characterized the Oakland police attack as “the most violent” against anti-war protesters in the United States. And finally, last year, two black longshoremen going to work in the port of Sacramento were beaten, maced and arrested by police under the rubric of Homeland Security regulations ordained by the “war on terror.” There’s precedent for this action. In the 1950s, French dockworkers refused to load war materiel on ships headed for Indochina, and helped to bring that colonial war to an end. At the ILWU’s convention in San Francisco in 2003, A. Q. McElrath, an octogenarian University of Hawaii regent and former ILWU organizer from the pineapple canneries, challenged the delegates to act for social justice, invoking the union’s slogan, “An injury to one is an injury to all.” She concluded, “The cudgel is on the ground. Will you pick it up?” It appears that longshore workers may be doing just that on May Day and calling on immigrant workers and others to join them. May Day protest WHEN: 10:30 a.m., May 1, followed by a rally at noon. FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.maydayilwu.googlepages.com; www.ilwu.org; www.transportworkers.org or call (415) 776-8100. Jack Heyman is a longshoreman who works on the Oakland docks.[TOP] Proposal for Sacramento City Council Proclamation Support of May 1, 2008, International The following proposal for a Sacramento City Council proclamation was submitted to the City Council meeting April 22, 2008 by the Union Civica Primero de Mayo, Frente de Mexicanos en El Exterior, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Chicano Cosortium, West Sacramento, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and others. Whereas, Workers have been in the vanguard of union organizing since the 19th century, and workers all over the world will join together in Solidarity on this day in celebration of “May 1, International Workers day!” Whereas, federal immigration authorities including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been conducting brutal raids on workplaces and people’s homes, from the arrest of 1,300 workers at Swift meatpacking plants in six states on December 12, 2006, to more recent raids in the Bay Area, at the Smithfield hog processing plant in North Carolina and elsewhere, terrorizing and separating families, intimidating the workers and interfering with union organization at the workplaces, in a massive violation of civil and union rights, and Whereas, workers across the country are waging heroic organizing campaigns to demand opportunities to make a living and live in such communities, and Whereas, free trade agreements like the failed path of the CAFTA, NAFTA and the now proposed “Security and Prosperity Partnership” (SPP) which have opened the borders to the unfettered movement of corporations in search of profits while simultaneously depriving workers on both sides of the border of opportunities to make a living and increasing poverty, crime, and social unrest, poor wages and working conditions and Whereas, unrealistic and restrictive immigration policies combined with the effects of U.S. foreign policy and trade policy have helped create waves of political and economic refugees and a subsequent increase in the forced migration of workers and the continuation of indentured temporary “guest” worker programs to the United States, and Whereas, a general atmosphere of racist scapegoating is being used to blame immigrants for joblessness and low wages while corporations plunder the globe causing extreme poverty, unemployment, massive migrations, ecological catastrophes and wars that drive immigrants to flee their homelands, Whereas, the Sacramento City Council declares that no human being is illegal and looks forward to the day when the people of the world are not divided by borders, Whereas, we would request that the Sacramento City Council adopt a resolution in support of the City of Sacramento being declared an “Official Protected Sanctuary City” in support of : Therefore, be it resolved, that the Sacramento City Council publicly call for an end to all ICE raids and deportations by the City and an end to local law enforcement assuming the Federal ICE duties of the INS, including of those based on Social -Security no-match letters, and take the following actions: 1) work with immigrant rights groups to expose and stop ICE raids; 2) condemn ICE raids as racist and union-busting; 3) help organize so that immigrants are not punished, exploited or denied labor protections as a result of their undocumented status; 4) actively lobby these issues at the State Capitol and sponsor education workshops and events, and 5) participate in the support of the workers’ rights march on May 1, International Workers Day.[TOP] Vermont AFL-CIO Calls on Workers to Support West Coast May Day Strike The Executive Board of the Vermont AFL-CIO, representing thousands of workers in countless sectors across Vermont, have unanimously passed an historic resolution expressing their “unequivocal” support for the first U.S. labor strike against the war in Iraq on May Day. The strike, being organized by the Longshore Caucus of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU), will seek to shutdown all west coast ports for a period of 8 hours on May 1, 2008. The Vermont AFL-CIO is the first state labor federation to publicly back the Longshoremen; other state federations are expected to follow. The resolution, among other things, calls the war in Iraq “immoral, unwanted, and unnecessary,” states that the vast majority of working Vermonters oppose the war, and contends that the war will only be brought to an end by “the direct actions of working people.” Many other Vermont labor unions and organizations, including the Vermont Workers’ Center, have also made official statements condemning the war. The resolution also calls on working Vermonters to “discuss the actions of the Longshoremen, to wear anti-war buttons, and to take various actions of their own design and choosing in their workplace on May 1, 2008.” “Workers in Vermont and all across this nation are against this war. We have already demanded that the government end it, but they have consistently failed to heed our words. Therefore working people are beginning to take concrete steps to make our resistance known. If the war does not immediately end we, the unions and working people of Vermont, will also be compelled to take appropriate action,” said David Van Deusen, a District Vice President of the Vermont AFL-CIO. Vermont AFL-CIO Resolution In Solidarity With Longshoremen’s West Coast Strike Against War Whereas the war in Iraq is immoral, unwanted, and unnecessary, Whereas this unjust war is opposed by the great majority of Americans and Vermonters, the bulk of organized labor, and by thousands of enlisted military personal, Whereas this unjust war has already resulted in more then 4000 American dead (including a disproportionate number of brave Vermonters), and tens of thousands of service men and woman being wounded, Whereas this unjust war has further resulted in untold number of Iraqi deaths, Whereas the Federal Government has not made any constructive moves towards the ending of this war and the full removal of U.S. troops, and instead has taken the course of escalation and indefinite occupation, Whereas the government of Vermont, and especially Governor Jim Douglas, have failed to find ways to bring Vermont National Guard troops home from Iraq, Whereas this war will only be brought to an end by the direct actions of working people, Therefore, Let It Be Resolved that the Vermont AFL-CIO continues to stand in firm opposition to this war, and unequivocally supports the decision of the Longshore Caucus of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to shutdown the west coast ports for a period of 8 hours on May 1, 2008, as a means of resistance. Let It Be Resolved that the Vermont AFL-CIO stands in full solidarity with the New York Metro National Association of Letter Carriers who have resolved to conduct two minute periods of silence on May 1s, 2008, at 1pm, 5pm and 9pm in protest of the war and in support of the Longshoremen. Let It Be Resolved that the Vermont AFL-CIO encourages all Vermont workers to stand in solidarity with the historic actions being taken by the Longshoremen & other labor unions to end this war. Let It Be Further Resolved that the Vermont AFL-CIO calls for all Vermont workers to discuss the actions of the Longshoremen, to wear anti-war buttons, and to take various actions of their own design and choosing in their workplace on May 1, 2008 as a means of resistance against this unjust war.[TOP]
May Day Actions Planned Nationwide Marches and actions for May Day, International Workers Day, with a special focus on the National Day of Action in Defense of Immigrant Families, have been announced for May Day, Thursday, May 1, 2008. The following is a list of some of the actions. Arizona Tucson Phoenix California Berkeley Chico Davis Farmersville Fort Bragg Fresno Los Angeles Martinez Modesto Mountain View Oakland Sacramento Salinas San Diego San Francisco San Jose San Rafael Santa Rosa Colorado Denver Illinois Chicago Indiana Indianapolis Kentucky Louisville Massachusetts Boston Chelsea Michigan Detroit Minnesota Minneapolis Nevada Las Vegas New Jersey Elizabeth New Mexico Albuquerque Santa Fe New York New York City North Carolina Raleigh Oregon Portland Salem Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Texas Austin McAllen San Antonio Washington Bellingham Mt. Vernon Seattle Yakima Wisconsin Madison Milwaukee [TOP]
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Voice of Revolution USMLO • 3942 N. Central Ave. • Chicago, IL 60634 |