"What we need is a rank-and-file militant union labor movement in the United States, like what we had in the 1880s. They were led by immigrants. Like me and my brother Jose here. We're both sons of immigrants. We need to take back our unions." -- Big Will, IWW, Teamsters.
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FEATURING MAY DAY ACTIVISTS - Tens of thousands of people showed up for May Day marches last Friday May 1st. The “May Day Strong” coalition, which released a detailed “Affordability Agenda” ahead of the events, announced 5,000 marches in cities across the United States.
May Day is traditionally celebrated as a holiday around the world, and is referred to as International Workers’ Day. The inspiration for the commemoration lies in Chicago’s Haymarket Affair of 1886, a seminal turning point in labor history that led to the adoption of the 8-hour work day. But in the US, the official day marking labor power is in September, where Labor Day has marked the start of the school year and become merely an excuse to shop.
Labor organizers in the US want to change that. In Los Angeles, California where this program is based, two marches took place, at MacArthur Park and in front of City Hall. Rising Up host Sonali Kolhatkar attended the City Hall event in Downtown LA and spoke with some of the activists who had gathered there in this special edition of our on-going series, Rising Up in the Streets.
ROUGH TRANSCRIPT:
Activists chanting: Brick by brick. Brick by brick. Wall by wall. Wall by wall. All these empires will fall. All these empires will fall.
Hamid Khan: My name is Hamid Khan. I'm with Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, and I'm here today to celebrate International Workers' Power. Today is May Day. It's such a historic day, and it's so deeply connected to the work we do at Stop LAPD Spying Coalition as well because before there was the FBI, before there was the NSA, before there was this whole infrastructure, the Red Squads were formed in Chicago, and that was directly related to what happened at Haymarket Square in 1886.
So that's why we're here, just to build that collective power, to disrupt the system, to build that power towards the abolition of this diseased body and this toxic system that we live in. So that's why I'm here.
Sonali Kolhatkar: The history of May Day is so disconnected from most Americans' consciousness. And that, I think, is by design, right? We get Labor Day off in September, and most people are working today, although there's a pretty good showing of folks who I suppose chose not to work. But why is that important to recover that history?
Khan: First of all, just the purpose for what happened at Haymarket Square over 140 years ago, that was a fight for eight-hour workday. That's why people had come together. That's why workers had come together, all working-class people, over the years and years of abuse and suffering the exploitation. So, I think it's now that people take it for granted. The message is to take a step back, that you're there, you're enjoying your lunch break, you're enjoying your workday, you're enjoying your 9:00 to 5:00.
