Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011
Istanbul--200,000 rally at Taksim Square (photo Reuters-Stringer)
May 1, 2011, Istanbul, Turkey–200,000 people march. Milwaukee, Wisconsin–100,000. These were among the largest events in the world on May Day, International Workers Day–or simply Labor Day for most of the world, El Dia del Trabajo.
Born in the U.S. in 1886 in the struggle for the 8-hour day, May Day was associated with anarchists, socialists, and communists, so the U.S. government undermined it with the establishment of a new and innocuous “Labor Day” holiday in September. Kept barely alive by a few leftists, May Day was brought back to the U.S. in a big way by immigrants in 2006 and became a big day for the expression of immigrant issues and the demand for immigrant rights. As U.S. workers tried to reclaim our holiday,
Milwaukee (photo Tom Lynn, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
consciousness grew about the need for solidarity with workers all over the world, and more U.S. workers joined with immigrants in the celebration of this holiday. The biggest expression of this unity in 2011 was in Wisconsin.
Some of the issues around the world: More jobs, union rights, better working conditions, higher wages to counter higher prices for food and fuel; migrant worker rights; an end to the growing income gap between rich and poor; democratic political rights and an end to autocratic governments; an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ciudad Monte, Tamaulipas, Mexico--workers remember the "martyrs of Chicago" along with their own fallen comrades (noticiaselmexicano.com) Dhaka, Bangladesh (photo Pavel Rahman-AP)
Beirut, Lebanon (photo Migrant Workers Task Force)
Ankara, Turkey (photo Umit Bektas-Reuters)
Manila, Philippines--workers demand immediate wage increase, burn President Benigno Aquino III in effigy (photo Aaron Favila-AP)Jakarta, Indonesia (photo Irwin Fedriansyah-AP)
Hyderabad--All India Trade Union Congress (photo Mahesh Kumar A.-AP)
Mumbai--Striking Air India pilots (photo Vivek Prakash-Reuters)
Katmandu--Supporters of CP (Maoist) and activists of Nepal Trade Union (photo Binod Joshi-AP)
Baghdad--Members of the Iraqi Communist Party (photo Khalid Mohammed-AP)
Basra (Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq--uslaboragainstwar.org)
Cairo, Egypt--May Day in Tahrir Square (photo Khalil Hamra-AP)
Lahore, Pakistan--Union workers rally (photo K.M. Chaudary-AP)
Madrid, Spain (photo Arturo Rodriguez-AP)
Moscow, Russia--members of the Left Front (photo Ivan Sekretarev-AP)
Lisbon, Portugal--Against the IMF, for Leftist Unity (photo Armando Franca-AP)
Caracas, Venezuela (photo Ariana Cubillos-AP)
Havana, Cuba--Students in Revolution Square (photo Enrique de la Osa-Reuters)
Mexico City--Workers protesting labor law "reform" burn image of Labor Secretary Javier Lozano (photo Marco Ugarte-AP)
Houston (thefirecollective.org)
Houston (thefirecollective.org)
Dallas (labordallas.org)
San Antonio (blogs.sacurrent.com)
Atlanta, GA--Protesters urge Gov. Nathan Deal to veto anti-immigrant legislation (photo Rich Addicks-AP)
New York--rally for jobs and immigrant rights (photo Seth Wenig-AP)
Los Angeles, California (photo L.A. County Federation of Labor)
Milwaukee--Voces de la Frontera has been organizing big May Day marches since 2006 (photo Tom Lynn-Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Milwaukee--This says it all (photo Tom Lynn-Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Tags: 2011, 8-hour day, afghanistan, anarchist, Atlanta, Baghdad, Bangladesh, Basra, communist, Cuba, Dallas, Egypt, El Dia del Trabajo, Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, Houston, immigrant, India, Indonesia, international workers day, Iraq, Iraqi Communist Party, Istanbul, jobs, Labor Day, Lebanon, Los Angeles, May 1, May Day, Mexico, migrant, Milwaukee, Nepal, New York, occupation, Pakistan, Philippines, poor, Portugal, rights, Russia, san antonio, socialist, solidarity, Spain, Turkey, U.S., union, unity, Venezuela, wages, Wisconsin, workers
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Friday, March 25th, 2011
Building on the spirit and energy of rallies around the country calling on state governments to prioritize education, health care, public safety, the environment, and jobs, we will demand that Texas take a balanced approach to balancing the state budget by spending our state’s savings in the Rainy Day Fund and finding new revenue. Be part of the movement to move Texas forward! Bring your family and friends and wear your rain gear! There’s a torrential storm in Texas and together we have the power to turn the tides!http://www.april62011.org/
SCHEDULE
9am – 10am Buses arriving, lobby day training and staging for the march
11am – 12pm March from Waterloo Park (13th & Trinity) to the Capitol
NOON Rally on the South Steps
1pm – 4pm Lobby Visits and Workshops
4pm Buses leave
5pm Day ends officially
HELP MAKE SAVE OUR STATE A HUGE SUCCESS!
Register and Participate in the April 6th Save Our State March, Rally, and Advocacy Day!
Spread the word! Download and distribute Save Our State fliers in your community and share the event on Facebook
Volunteer! We will need lots of people power before, during, and after April 6th to make Save Our State a success. If you would like to volunteer please contact Kymberlie Quong Charles.
April 6th will be the culmination of a menu of Save Our State activities. If you’re planning activities that you’d like to be part of Save Our State please contact Kymberlie Quong Charles.
SAVE OUR STATE is a collaborative effort between the following organizations:
Center for Public Policy Priorities | Children’s Defense Fund | Cover Texas Now | Save Our Schools
Texas AFL-CIO | Texas AFT | Texas Forward | Texas Impact
Texas League of Young Voters |Texas Organizing Project
Texas State Employees Union | Texas State Teachers Association
Organized and hosted by the Texas State Employees Union, which months ago planned April 6 as its Lobby Day which it does every 2 years in the middle of the legislative session. TSEU joined the Texas Forward coalition, and now more than 60 organizations are joining together to make April 6 a massive show of support for public services, education, and public workers. http://www.cwa-tseu.org/PUBLIC/LobbyDay2011/LobbyDay_2011.html
 On April 6th state workers and union members from across the state are coming to Austin for a march and rally to defend public workers and public services. Texas State Employees Union is calling for a massive show of strength to tell the legislature that we will fight the proposed and unnecessary cuts to state services and state workers. There is no fat to cut in a state that ranks dead last or close to it in nearly every category of human services.
. . . . Everything is at stake: our jobs, our pensions our health care and our pay. And even more important, the impact on health and education, the disabled, poor, and unemployed will be disastrous. We need to say this loud and clear, just like those union folks in Wisconsin. We’ve had enough. Save essential services for Texas citizens. We need you to be there.
Contact TSEU at 512-448-4225 or http://www.cwa-tseu.org/
DOWNLOAD TICKET
If you live and work in and around Austin, it’s easy to be there for the Day of Action. If you live in other parts of the state, buses will depart from or pass through a city near you.
GET YOUR TICKET TODAY!!! Just $15.00 covers your lunch, registration and bus trip to and from Austin. Those in the Austin area pay only $8.00 for registration and lunch only. No ticket necessary if you don’t need transportation nor lunch–but buy a ticket if you want to help the cost of transportation from distant parts of the state (yes, there will be folks coming from El Paso, Lubbock, the Valley, Deep East Texas, and all points of the state!).
April 6th buses will be available from these communities:
Abilene, Alice, Amarillo, Beaumont, Big Spring, Brenham, Brownville, Brownwood, Bryan/College Station, Corpus Christi, Corsicana, Crocket, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Falfurrias, Ft. Stockton, Ft. Worth, Fredericksburg, Giddings, Gonzalez, Greenville, Harlingen, Houston, Kingsville, Laredo, Lockhart, Longview, Lubbock, Lufkin, McAllen, Mexia, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, Nacogdoches, Odessa, Prairie View, Raymondville, Richmond, San Angelo, San Antonio, Sweetwater, Temple, Terrell, Texarkana, Texas City, Tyler, Vernon, Victoria, Waco, Wichita Falls
SAVE OUR STATE ACTIVITIES
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Tags: 2011, April 6, Austin, Center for Public Policy Priorities, Children's Defense Fund, Cover Texas Now, disabled, Education, health care, human services, jobs, legislative session, pensions, poor, public employees, public services, public workers, Save Our Schools, Save Our State, Texas, Texas AFL-CIO, Texas AFT, Texas Forward, Texas Impact, Texas League of Young Voters, Texas Organizing Project, Texas State Employees Union, Texas State Teachers Association, TSEU, unemployed, union, Wisconsin
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