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| Photo: David McNew/Getty Images |
This May Day, Don’t Go to Work, Take to the Streets and Strike
A migrant-led insurrection is daring, but hardly shocking…. More surprising, perhaps, is the groundswell of protest from more mainstream unions and even some employers…
By Michelle Chen, Working In These Times
April 26, 2017
From the Muslim ban to the border wall, President Donald Trump’s first 100 days have unleashed a blitzkrieg of terror. But on May 1, the communities he thought he’d backed into a corner will put him on the defensive with equal and opposite force.
Maria Fernanda Cabello, a leader of the grassroots organizing network Movimiento Cosecha, issued a call to action at an April rally in Washington, D.C., announcing planned actions in more than 80 cities, potentially involving hundreds of thousands of people.
“We think that we can win by using the biggest powers in the immigrant community: our commerce and our labor … We work every day and we buy every week,” she said. Legal or not, “We're in every major industry in this country, and without us, it wouldn't run.”[…]
Read the full article:
New York City Actions for May 1, 2017 (Partial List)
Creative rally and direct action anchored by Make the Road New York before work. Immigrant family members under threat or torn from their loved ones by Trump’s deportation machine take a stand with the rest of our community standing shoulder to shoulder with them. We take our demands directly to a prominent corporation with close ties to Trump and his agenda.
Where:Meet at sidewalk outside library steps, 5th Avenue & 41st Street at the edge of Bryant Park) – we march from there to a site nearby
Participant(s): Make the Road New York
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/276706456112125/, http://www.backersofhate.org/
9:30 am – 12 pm: Stand Up for Workers' Rights at B&H Photo!
UPDATE 7 am, May 1: The workers are going on strike; this will be a support rally.
Special picket for May 1. More than 300 warehouse workers employed by B&H Photo voted in 2015 to form a union to protect their rights on the job. Now, in the midst of negotiations for a first contract, management is threatening to shut down the Brooklyn warehouses where they work and relocate 75 miles away in NJ. NYC DSA has been picketing the B&H store at 34th Street and 9th Ave twice a week—every Friday and Sunday—throughout the spring.
Special picket for May 1. More than 300 warehouse workers employed by B&H Photo voted in 2015 to form a union to protect their rights on the job. Now, in the midst of negotiations for a first contract, management is threatening to shut down the Brooklyn warehouses where they work and relocate 75 miles away in NJ. NYC DSA has been picketing the B&H store at 34th Street and 9th Ave twice a week—every Friday and Sunday—throughout the spring.
Where:34th Street and 9th Avenue
Participant(s):NYC DSA, Laundry Workers Center
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1933460510218834/?ti=icl
12 pm – 6 pm: May Day Strike to Defend Migrants, Refugees & All Workers!
Stop the Raids! Stop the Deportations! Stop Killing Black & Brown People! Stop the Wars at Home and Abroad! Resist Trump and the 1%!
Where:Union Square
Participant(s): NYC Shut It Down: The Grand Central Crew, Peoples Power Assemblies, International League of Peoples' Struggle - ILPS US, Cosecha NYC, Workers World Party
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/246734485788270/
12:30 pm – 5:00 pm: 6th Annual Immigrant Worker Justice Tour
Rally and march organized by local workers’ centers, immigrant rights groups, and social justice Where: Gather at Washington Square Park (at Fifth Avenue, Waverly Place, West 4th and MacDougal Streets); march route to be announced.
Participant(s): Immigrant Worker Justice, ICE-Free NYC, International Women's Strike, Coalition to End Broken Windows, Brandworkers, IWW - GDC, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Stardust Workers United, IWW - NYC GMB, New York Network of Worker Cooperatives, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Enlace Intl., Laundry Workers Center, New York Worker Center Federation, Families for Freedom, Retail Action Project, Million Hoodies
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/278179889261251/
4:30 pm – 7:30 pm: May Day with DSA! El Dia Internacional de los Trabajadores
This year’s International Worker’s Day, the Democratic Socialists of America stand in solidarity with Movimiento Cosecha, a nonviolent movement fighting for permanent protection, dignity, and respect for the millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Where: DSA will meet at 4pm in front of Barnes and Noble on Union Square, 33 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/2364662270426011
Events will be happening in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn throughout the day. At 5 pm New Yorkers from across the city will converge in Manhattan to stand together and resist the policies of the Trump Administration. Join us as we hear from musical performers who represent the diverse communities of New York City and directly from people impacted by Trump’s bigoted and anti-worker policies.
Where: Foley Square, 111 Worth St, New YorkParticipant(s): 78 LIUNA, 79 LIUNA, African Communities Together, ALIGN, Arab American Association of New York, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Building Trades, Central Labor Council, Chhaya CDC, Citizen Action of New York, Community Voices Heard, Council on American-Islamic Relations - New York, CWA Local 1180, DC37, Faith in New York, Food & Water Watch, Greater NY Labor-Religion Coalition, Hispanic Federation, Interfaith center of NY, Ironworkers Local 46, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice, Lab/Shul, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Laundry, Distribution Food Service JB, Local 802 AFM, Make the Road New York, Mason Tenders, MinKwon Community Action, Muslim Community Network, NICE, NY Communities, New York Civil Liberties Union, New York Immigration Coalition, New York Professional Nurses Union, New York State Association for Bilingual Education, New York State Nurses Association, Progressive Cities, PSC, Rural & Migrant Ministries, RWDSU, SEIU 1199, SEIU 32BJ, State AFL, Teamsters, Syria Solidarity NYC, TWU, UFT, U.S. Labor Against The War - NYC Chapter, WITNESS, Workers United, Workers United New York, Workmen's Circle, Writers Guild of America, East, and Yemeni American Merchants Association, Yemeni Bodega Strike Organizers. (list in formation)
More information: http://www.maydayny.org, https://www.facebook.com/events/1804989066488877/
