Vol. 72/No. 13 March 31, 2008


Seattle: workers, students
plan May Day march


BY EDWIN FRUIT
SEATTLE—Some 150 working people and students, mostly Spanish-speaking, met here March 15 to discuss plans for May Day actions. The meeting was organized by El Comité Pro Reforma Migratoria y Justicia Social (Committee for Immigration Reform and Social Justice).
Among those attending were 20 students from different campus chapters of the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán (MEChA). Aldo Resendiz from the MEChA chapter at Seattle University gave a political background of the struggle for immigrant rights. He noted that the first massive May Day action for immigrant rights was in 2006. The rally that year in Seattle drew 30,000 people, and in Yakima, Washington, 15,000 marched, including 500 high school students.

Carlos Marentes of El Comité spoke about the current economic crisis and its affect on working people, especially on immigrant workers. He said that there was virtually no difference in immigration policy between the three current front-runners in the presidential race: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain. “None of these candidates represent the interests of the Hispanic community,â€