Thread: Repeat of May 1st maybe?

May Day - the Real Labor Day


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May 1st, International Workers' Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world, and is recognized in every country except the United States, Canada, and South Africa. This despite the fact that the holiday began in the 1880s in the United States, with the fight for an eight-hour work day.

In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day's work from and after May 1, 1886. The resolution called for a general strike to achieve the goal, since legislative methods had already failed. With workers being forced to work ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day, rank-and-file support for the eight-hour movement grew rapidly, despite the indifference and hostility of many union leaders. By April 1886, 250,000 workers were involved in the May Day movement.

The heart of the movement was in Chicago, organized primarily by the anarchist International Working People's Association. Businesses and the state were terrified by the increasingly revolutionary character of the movement and prepared accordingly. The police and militia were increased in size and received new and powerful weapons financed by local business leaders. Chicago's Commercial Club purchased a $2000 machine gun for the Illinois National Guard to be used against strikers. Nevertheless, by May 1st, the movement had already won gains for many Chicago clothing cutters, shoemakers, and packing-house workers. But on May 3, 1886, police fired into a crowd of strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works Factory, killing four and wounding many. Anarchists called for a mass meeting the next day in Haymarket Square to protest the brutality.

The meeting proceeded without incident, and by the time the last speaker was on the platform, the rainy gathering was already breaking up, with only a few hundred people remaining. It was then that 180 cops marched into the square and ordered the meeting to disperse. As the speakers climbed down from the platform, a bomb was thrown at the police, killing one and injuring seventy. Police responded by firing into the crowd, killing one worker and injuring many others.

Although it was never determined who threw the bomb, the incident was used as an excuse to attack the entire Left and labor movement. Police ransacked the homes and offices of suspected radicals, and hundreds were arrested without charge. Anarchists in particular were harassed, and eight of Chicago's most active were charged with conspiracy to murder in connection with the Haymarket bombing. A kangaroo court found all eight guilty, despite a lack of evidence connecting any of them to the bomb-thrower (only one was even present at the meeting, and he was on the speakers' platform), and they were sentenced to die. Albert Parsons, August Spies, Adolf Fischer, and George Engel were hanged on November 11, 1887. Louis Lingg committed suicide in prison, The remaining three were finally pardoned in 1893.

It is not surprising that the state, business leaders, mainstream union officials, and the media would want to hide the true history of May Day, portraying it as a holiday celebrated only in Moscow's Red Square. In its attempt to erase the history and significance of May Day, the United States government declared May 1st to be "Law Day", and gave us instead Labor Day - a holiday devoid of any historical significance other than its importance as a day to swill beer and sit in traffic jams.

Nevertheless, rather than suppressing labor and radical movements, the events of 1886 and the execution of the Chicago anarchists actually mobilized many generations of radicals. Emma Goldman, a young immigrant at the time, later pointed to the Haymarket affair as her political birth. Lucy Parsons, widow of Albert Parsons, called upon the poor to direct their anger toward those responsible - the rich. Instead of disappearing, the anarchist movement only grew in the wake of Haymarket, spawning other radical movements and organizations, including the Industrial Workers of the World.

By covering up the history of May Day, the state, business, mainstream unions and the media have covered up an entire legacy of dissent in this country. They are terrified of what a similarly militant and organized movement could accomplish today, and they suppress the seeds of such organization whenever and wherever they can. As workers, we must recognize and commemorate May Day not only for it's historical significance, but also as a time to organize around issues of vital importance to working-class people today.

As IWW songwriter Joe Hill wrote in one of his most powerful songs:


Workers of the world, awaken!
Rise in all your splendid might
Take the wealth that you are making,
It belongs to you by right.
No one will for bread be crying
We'll have freedom, love and health,
When the grand red flag is flying
In the Workers' Commonwealth.

http://flag.blackened.net/daver/anarchism/mayday.html

Is anything being planned to counter another demonstration by the illegals in May? What are we doing?

I hope they do march en masse on May 1. It will only bring us more supporters.

Originally Posted by gusgriswald

Is anything being planned to counter another demonstration by the illegals in May? What are we doing?

I say let them march, they are only hurting themselves. I know a lot of people who were indifferent to illegal immigration, and now they are mad. It has helped our cause in many ways.

I agree Neese. They did really hurt themselves. The first protests, with their foreign flag waving, and chanting hateful slogans towards "Gringo's", showed their true nature, racist and hateful, loyal only to their own countries. Then came along one of the supposed "immigrants rights" groups, and corrected them when they realized these idiots were not helping themsleves, ony hurting.

They might be trying to play themselves up now as "all American", but people are not buying it now, we all remember how they started out.

I feel no need to waste my precious activist time roaming the streets like a common gang, I can understand the desire though, to want to show ourselves and our opinions to the public, but in the long run, our time is best spent in the shadows, working hard, and encouraging other Americans to see this issue for what it is, and also pushing our politicians to do what their constituents want.

gusgriswold, I really think they would like to have us react in the same way they do. When we do not, they really do not know what to think, and are not sure what they should do next. Let's keep em' guessing!!!

I think the best way to win the war on immigration is to be positive.

Pro-US
Pro-laws
Pro-patriotism
Pro-enforcement

We need to rally and get Americans to feel like Americans again. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past. We are going to stick together, we are going to make a plan and we are going to move forward. We are going to fight the good fight and we are going to get our country back.

IMMIGRANT SOLIDARITY NETWORK

MAYDAY 2007



Points of Unity

- No to the anti-immigrant legislations from Congress
- No to militarization of the border
- No to criminalization of immigrant communities
- No to the planned immigrant crackdown across the country
- No to the guest worker program
- No to the Employer Sanction

- Yes to amnesty for undocumented immigrants
- Yes to immigrant family reunification
- Yes to a humane path to citizenship
- Yes to labor rights and living wages for all workers

http://www.mayday2007.org/

1/1/07: Getting Ready for the 110th Congress-An Analysis

National Immigration Forum

The 109th Congress concluded with no further mischief created on immigration policy. In fact, the Congress did not even complete the minimum work for which they are responsible-passing the government's budget-instead funding most of the government in a "continuing resolution" until February 15, 2007, and handing off the responsibility to the 110th Congress.

Since the election, Members of Congress have been busy re-organizing themselves. While the details of who will chair the subcommittees are still being finalized, the broad-stroke picture is that immigration restrictionists will be in a weaker position in the 110th Congress. The hard-line restrictionists who were in a position to block immigration reform-in the House in particular-have either been booted out of office or, by virtue of the Republicans' loss of control of the House and thus of the Committees, have been demoted.

While the opponents of comprehensive reform have been demoted, it is still, basically, a 50-50 Congress representing a 50-50 country. Comprehensive immigration reform will not come easily. Any sound immigration legislation that might pass must have bi-partisan support. Republican divisions on immigration have been much in the news until now because Republicans held the reigns of power. Now that the Democrats are in charge, divisions in their ranks will come under the magnifying glass. To pass comprehensive reform, the Democratic leadership will need Republican votes. As with just about any issue, any legislation that stands a chance of enactment will require compromise.

Still, there is a window of opportunity for comprehensive reform. Both the House and Senate leadership (as well as the President) are now talking about comprehensive immigration reform being a priority. If actually treated as a priority, there could be action prior to the time, later in the year, when Presidential politics complicates the immigration debate.

http://www.mayday2007.org/

Useful Resources

Minutemen Watch

Detention News

Legislation Watch

Asian American

NYC Immigrant

Groann......ah Skip I was hoping to not have to look at that again, I just ate, now I feel sick!!

I hope this does happen. It will anger Americans again!

There is one thing we can do we can send a link to that site to our email contact list. It's sure to make people angry and wake more people up to the invasion! The bottom left hand picture speaks volumes.

This site insures that the pro illegals will dig their own graves and if they march it will be even better. Let them make fools of themselves!