Submitted on Tue, 06/06/2006 - 1:05pm
By Adam Welch - Industrial Worker, June 2006
From California to the northeastern seaboard and the deep south, May 1st was marked by massive demonstrations. People poured into the streets of over 200 U.S. cities in support of immigrant workers' rights as part of the "Grand Paro Americano de 2006," or the Great American Boycott of 2006. With between two and three million participating, it was largest single day of protest ever in the United States.
But the day was far more than a movement of mass demonstrations, as nation-wide restaurants were shuttered, meat processing plants were idled, ripe fruit laid waiting to be picked and the nation's largest port stood at a near standstill. Classrooms were empty in some cities as well, as students, often joined by teachers and staff, skipped school in support. Many of those participating in the "Day Without An Immigrant," both documented and undocumented immigrants along with their supporters, heeded the call by some groups to not work, buy goods or attend school. The tactic is a traditional one called paros civicos, borrowed from social movements in Mexico.
Submitted on Tue, 06/06/2006 - 12:58pm
Staff Report - Industrial Worker, June 2006
Thousands of businesses across the country closed their doors May 1st -- some because there were no workers, others because managers preferred to avoid a fight with their employees that they could only lose. Many more worked short-staffed.
In Latino barrios throughout Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago and Miami, thousands of restaurants, warehouses, newsstands, and money transfer services were closed. Many McDonald's outlets cut hours or shut down.
In Los Angeles, hundreds of sweatshop garment factories were closed. The strike paralyzed construction sites and industrial food production plants across the country.
"It was one thing to march," said Armando Navarro of the California-based National Alliance for Human Rights, referring to the earlier wave of immigrant protests. "Now we're going to hit Ôem where it hurts Ð in the pocketbooks."
Cargill, the country's second-largest beef producer, closed seven meat-processing plants employing 14,000 workers. Tyson, Perdue and other meatpackers followed suit. Tens of thousands of farm workers stayed out of the fields, and the American Nursery and Landscape Association estimated that 90 percent of the half million workers in its industry took the day off.
According to Jack Kyser, an economist with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., the economic impact of the strike could total $200 million just in Los Angeles County. No one has done similar calculations for the rest of the country, but the total would have to run more than a billion dollars.
While several companies threatened to fire or discipline workers who took off work for the day, and some carried out those threats, many employers' associations urged caution -- warning that such actions could lead to further actions.
"Law firms have been advising their clients that the immigrant labor boycott is protected by the National Labor Relations Act, even though it isn't specifically a union action," reported the May 2 Wall Street Journal, which had real-time coverage of the May Day actions in its online edition.
Submitted on Tue, 05/30/2006 - 1:08pm
By Harvey Goldberg - Epicenter News Service; Reposted from East Bay News Service.
Events marking May Day, International Workers Day (May 1st), hit a new high in 2006, with major events occurring on every continent and millions of workers mobilized. Workers and their representatives took the day to stand up for their rights and interests, commemorate their achievements, and to wage new struggles.
May Day events made headlines around the world, particularly in South America and, surprisingly, in the United States, where May Day was born,but had largely been forgotten.
Long gone are the Cold War days when May Day was most noted for the military displays by the Soviet Union and China, and when Communist regimes and movements seemingly held the franchise on May Day.
Contemporary May Day events are about rank and file mobilizations which revolve around key working class struggles particular to each country, though a strong sense of international solidarity also pervades them. Most are organized by labor unions, mass movements, and a variety of left-wing political parties. Communists continue to be involved, but no longer play a leading role in most countries. Only Cuba, with its prestige gained in standing up to the U.S., continues to be held in high esteem at many May Day events.
Submitted on Fri, 05/12/2006 - 9:54pm
By Dean Dempsey - Industrial Worker, June 2006
International Workers Day, 2006, was undoubtedly one of the largest May Day celebrations in U.S. history, as upward of 1.5 million people participated in day long walk-outs, strikes, and protests all across the nation. Chicago estimated 700,000 took part in their May Day action, with one-third of the city’s students refusing to attend school. Denver received at least 75,000 people, or one-sixth of the city’s population, in a rally outside the state capitol. Los Angles organizers say about one in every four of students were absent as more than one-million people who took part in May Day marches and boycotts.
Submitted on Mon, 05/08/2006 - 2:25pm
Note: This is an official Pittsburgh GMB posting. The Branch only authorizes officially recognized news and articles to be posted under the Pittsburgh GMB banner.
Homestead, PA, -- More than one hundred members of the Industrial Workers of the World, friends of Labor, local activists, and community members celebrated International Workers’ Day in Pittsburgh, PA. The Pittsburgh IWW’s second annual celebration of workers worldwide was held on April 29th at the Bulgarian-Macedonian National Education and Cultural Center and included a midnight march to the historic Homestead Strikers’ Monument.
Members of the Pittsburgh IWW, which was also celebrating the fourth anniversary of its chartering on May Day 2002, coordinated the evening’s events which included various musical acts, labor skits, poetry and spoken word performances, and speak outs by local union members and activists. In addition to the IWW, members belonging of the Teamsters, Steelworkers, and Writers Guild were present, as were representatives of local activist groups such as the Thomas Merton Center, the anti-war Pittsburgh Organizing Group, Pittsburgh Friends of Immigrants, and the Big Idea Bookstore. Members of the of the Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance, including IWW member and PASCA co-founder Ken Miller, were also on hand and spoke of this summer’s activities around the 2006 All-Star Game to raise awareness of major league baseball’s connection to global apparel sweatshops.