All over the world, workers and oppressed peoples
vigorously participated
in May Day, the international day of working class unity and struggle.
Everywhere, they celebrated their achievements and pledged to keep up
their
militant fights and resistance against the old world order of
super-exploitation
of persons by persons, nation-wrecking on the part of the big powers
and the
striving of the imperialist powers to dominate the world to secure new
spheres
of influence, zones for the export of capital, cheap labour and raw
materials.
In countries where the revolutionary forces have triumphed, May Day is
an
occasion for the workers and people to celebrate all their achievements
while
preparing to meet the challenges of the present and future. In war torn
countries, the oppressed peoples continue to
affirm their
right to be, while everywhere workers are fighting for justice and for
the
recognition of the rightful place of labour.
One of the biggest challenges facing workers in the
countries which belong
to the imperialist system of states is how to empower themselves
politically
and rid themselves of neo-liberal governments that have abdicated their
social
responsibility to uphold public right and ensure the people's
well-being. These
governments serve private interests with increasing arrogance,
shamelessness
and violence in the name of "austerity" and other phony justifications
to make
the workers and people -- who create the wealth and make the society
function
-- bear the burden of the crises caused by the rotten monopoly
capitalist
system which are subsumed with neo-liberal corruption, nation-wrecking
and
warmongering. In this regard, workers' actions on May Day worldwide
affirm
the common fight for rights, empowerment, resistance to retrogression,
peace
and justice.
United States
May Day rallies and marches took place in dozens of
cities across
the United States to demand an end to deportations of undocumented
immigrants and to take a stand for the rights of all workers. Through
their actions workers made it clear that they refuse to be split on the
question of who does or does not
have status. Actions also opposed U.S. imperialist war and
occupation, environmental destruction, and the privatization of public
assets and services.
The actions follow the mobilization across the country
on April 5 to
stop the deportations of undocumented immigrants. Under the Obama
administration more than 2 million people have already been deported
and it
is estimated that 1,100 are deported each day. Many young
immigrants and the children
of immigrants are becoming involved in the fight for their rights.
Washington, DC
In Washington, DC, a large, youthful and energetic May
Day march
started at Union Station and continued to Capitol Hill, ending at the
White House. It was led by youth and immigrant families from Maryland
and Virginia, and joined by youth from Georgia, Texas, and Arizona from
the Not One More Deportation
campaign. This May Day protest followed almost daily protests and acts
of civil disobedience in DC targetting the Obama administration's
deportation record.
Hundreds of protesters, including many students, rallied
at Malcolm
X Park and marched through the historic Columbia Heights neighborhood
to the White House later in the afternoon. Columbia Heights, which is
in the midst of a struggle against gentrification, is home to many
Latina/o workers, many of whom
stood outside their workplaces and homes to watch the march. Among the
demands of the march were: stop mass deportations; end mass
incarceration (2.3 million people are in U.S. jails); stop imperialist
war and stay out of Syria, Iran, Crimea and Venezuela; and health care
and education for all.
New York
In New York City, thousands of protesters rallying for
workers' and
immigrants' rights marched from Union Square to City Hall and Zuccotti
Park. The action demanded an increase in the minimum wage, fair
contracts for city employees; a halt to unjust deportations and
national
immigration reform. Another demand was for all construction projects be
built with
union labour. People
began converging in Union Square at noon and the crowd grew to
thousands by the time the march began at 5 pm.
Syracuse
A rally held at Perseverance Park in downtown Syracuse,
New York,
focussed on the rights of immigrant workers. It highlighted the local
campaign against the severe exploitation of undocumented farm workers
who produce dairy products, a major staple of the local and state
economy.
New Haven
Detroit
In Detroit, May Day actions opposed the pressure on city
workers to
take a 4.5 per cent cut in their pensions and make other concessions,
as part of Detroit's recent bankruptcy. Thousands of marchers, largely
city
retirees, blocked downtown traffic and protested inside the corridors
of Chase
Bank and Emergency Manager
Kevyn Orr's residence chanting, "No Pensions, No Peace," "Show Orr the
Door," and called on retirees to Vote NO! on any deal.
Chicago
More than 700 people marched through the streets of
Chicago
on May Day
demanding an end to deportations and full equality now! Chants of "2
Million 2 Many!" and "Ni Uno Mas!" (Not One More!) could be heard
throughout the
streets as the march travelled from the Haymarket Memorial through
downtown Chicago to an Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre. Undocumented students
and youth, along with partners of people who have been deported spoke
out at a rally there.
Philadelphia
In Philadelphia, workers, community and labour
activists, and students
came together for a march and rally. At
various stops along the route marchers denounced the privatization of
public institutions -- from schools and prisons to the postal service,
demanded a $15 minimum wage,
and opposed U.S. imperialism and its role in the Israeli state's
genocide against the Palestinian people.
St. Paul
In Saint Paul, Minnesota, around 2,000 people marched
two-and-a-half
miles from the Governor's Mansion to the State Capitol. The march
raised four demands: driver's licences for all, workers' rights, just
immigration reform, and no more deportations. The demand for driver's
licences rang out strongly throughout
the march because a large number of people who have been deported were
first detained for driving without a licence. The marchers streamed
into the capitol building and filled the rotunda demanding that the
legislature approve the bill for drivers licences for all in its
current session. Another march in downtown
Minneapolis demanded action on deportations and immigration reform.
Milwaukee
More than 1,000 immigrants, workers and family
members marched
from Milwaukee, Wisconsin's South Side to the County Courthouse
demanding: "Stop ICE Raids in the Courthouses!" and "Legalization for
All!"
In recent months, it has been revealed that the local ICE office has
been sending plainclothes
agents to municipal and county courthouses to detain any undocumented
immigrant who goes there, whether for a birth certificate for their
newborn child or to pay parking and traffic tickets.
Tampa
Albuquerque
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, four May Day marches --
organized by trade
unions, immigrants rights activists, students and others -- converged
on Gateway Park. Slogans included: "Capitalism Causes Deportations,"
"Stop Deportations Now," "$15 Minimum/Fight For Fifteen," "End Police
Cooperation with ICE"
and "Equal Pay for Women." A large banner on the stage proclaimed: "Not
1 More Deportation of NM (New Mexican) Working Families."
Tucson
Los
Angeles
In Los Angeles, thousands joined in the annual May Day
marches,
flooding the streets of the downtown to demand an immediate end to
deportations and full immigrant rights. One march travelled from
Chinatown to the Los Angeles detention centre. The march made a call to
keep
families together, and focussed on
how sweeping deportations leave families broken, terrorize immigrant
communities, and disrupt the very fabric of working people's lives. A
second march, organized by immigrant rights coalitions, took place in
the heart of downtown as many garment workers were leaving their
workplaces. This march demanded an end to deportations and amnesty
for all immigrants
now.
San Jose
In
San José, California, several thousand workers and community
members,
marched for workers' and immigrants' rights.
Oakland
Seattle
In Seattle, several thousand people -- many of them
immigrant
workers and their supporters, as well as supporters of a raise in the
minimum wage to $15 an hour -- held a march and rally. Spirited chants
targeted the Obama administration's policy of massive deportations.
In Tacoma, Washington, actions kicked off at the
Northwest Detention
Center where about 200 people chanted "No estan solos" (you are not
alone)
as a van-full of new detainees were led in chains into the immigration
prison. The rally marked 56 days of hunger strikes by human rights
leaders in the centre to protest
the record number of deportations under the Obama administration and
the conditions under which detainees are held. The rally ended with a
caravan to the Seattle May Day events.
Latin
American
and
the
Caribbean
Cuba
Havana
Mexico
Mexico
City
Guatemala
Guatemala City
El Salvador
San Salvador
Honduras
Tequcigalpa
Nicaragua
Managua
Costa Rica
San Jose
Panama
Panama City
Colombia
Valledupar
Venezuela
Caracas
Brazil
Sao Paulo
Bolivia
La Paz
Argentina
Buenos Aires
Europe
England
London
Ireland
Dublin
Norway
Oslo
Germany
Berlin
Switzerland
Geneva
Hungary
Budapest
France
Paris
Portugal
Lisbon
Spain
Valencia
Italy
Rome
Greece
Athens
Thessaloniki
Ukraine
Donetsk
Russia
Moscow
Crimea
Turkey
Istanbul
Ankara
Asia
Palestine
Gaza City
Pakistan
Lahore
India
Delhi
Bangladesh
Dhaka
Thailand
Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City
Malaysia
Kuala
Lampur
Hong Kong
Philippines
Manila
Taiwan
Taipei
Korea
Pyongyang
Seoul
Africa
South Africa
Polokwane
Madagascar
Fort Dauphin
