Workers will strike on International Worker's Day to protest worsening conditions across the country
Picture from the May 1st 2006 "Day Without Immigrants" strike
The Food Chain Workers Alliance in conjunction with the Service Employees International Union United Service Workers West have announced plans for a day of no work, school, or shopping on May 1st, International Workers Day. The coalition of farmworkers, cooks, servers and food manufacturers will join janitors, airport workers, and others in Los Angeles based union SEIU-USWW to stand up against immigrant raids, the violation of indigenous people’s rights, attacks on worker’s rights, the racist justice system, violence against trans people, Trump’s “Muslim ban”, and environmental destruction.
“My co-workers and I had to make a choice: wait around for Trump to disrupt our livelihoods and families, or stand united to fight,” said a member of Brandworkers, a center for local food manufacturing workers that is helping organize the strike. “We chose to struggle until the end because it’s better to have a chance at justice than suffer guaranteed misery.”
By choosing May 1st, strikers will help commemorate the deaths of George Engel, Adolph Fischer, Albert Parsons, August Spies, and Louis Ling who were murdered by the city of Chicago during the fight for the eight-hour work day.
You can find out more and donate to a worker's strike fund by visiting may1strike.org
Support the May 1st strike!
No work, no school, no shopping!
Comments
hmm this sounds interesting
hmm this sounds interesting but I wonder if it is not just something like the Fight for 15 "strikes" which were actually mostly demonstrations by union staffers, with the intention of lobbying/building support for the Democratic party. Anyone got more detailed info?
The first I heard about this
The first I heard about this was someone from Chicago who told me that the Chicago Teachers Union is planning for a May 1 strike, and other Chicago unions may join in. I could see the CTU pulling off a real one-day strike but I have a hard time imagining any other large unions officially breaking their no-strike clauses.
Recognizing where the call
Recognizing where the call came from and who the supporting partners are, but it might be good maybe have some comradely and constructive dialogue and conversation, note sharing and generalized discussion.
The whole thing does seem a
The whole thing does seem a bit odd, but the call is open to interpretation and actively encourages participation outside of the coalition calling for the strike
Also, apart from the general
Also, apart from the general problem with these "strike" calls (that if people aren't prepared to strike for themselves over concrete demands, they sure as hell aren't going to go on an abstract protest strike with no demand or aim), 1 May is really soon! So it's not enough time to build for even if it actually happening were a vague possibility
Steven. wrote: Also, apart
Steven.
I've been extremely skeptical of these, but for the "Women's Strike" on March 8, the radio did report that a couple of school districts around the country had been closed. It's not much, but it's also not nothing.
Brandworkers' wikipedia page
Brandworkers' wikipedia page says they work often with IWW https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandworkers_International
Press release is here
Press release is here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uiBbWqWVFfzER5g4D6XDZUYx_tKvp1GMkWdYV_XvNik/edit
mentions Movement For Black Lives, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Cosecha as being part of coalition
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and Brandworkers are also organizers.
Sent an email to Food Workers Coalition asking whether Food Chain Workers Alliance is part of SEIU woman responded :
"FCWA is not part of SEIU. But we are partners in calling for this strike, specifically SEIU USSW.
FCWA members represent workers across the food chain in production, processing, distribution, retail and foodservice and restaurants. Currently, there are 29 organizations that are members of FCWA."
here's another article I read
here's another article I read on it from a liberal-progressive website, if what it says is true than this is quite promising http://www.alternet.org/activism/diverse-protest-groups-unite-majority-aiming-large-scale-demonstrations-may-1st