May Day is not just a historical remembrance of labor’s proud history in this country. It’s also about recognizing and celebrating the struggles and victories of the moment – and, for younger generations, a look at possibilities for the future.
Autoworkers at the VW Assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee recently sent shockwaves through the political and corporate elites by voting for UAW representation by 73%! That’s not supposed to happen in the anti-union south, and deeply “red state” of Tennessee. The workers didn’t care about that. It was time for them to stand up and fight back. It was time for the UAW to show up and help workers organize no matter what part of the country they’re in.
Volkswagen worker Stephanie Romack celebrates after a vote to join the United Auto Workers passes Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn. (George Walker IV/AP)
Blue states, red states, purple states, hell - we’re all in precarious states! Workers of all races, genders and identities, other oppressed people of color, and the unhoused … none of them care about the artificial boundaries created by mainstream media, the dominant political parties, and financial interests. There are common interests and challenges we share. The opportunities that organizing creates is to bring us together to fight back against the widening gap between the rich and the rest of us.
Some unions; such as UAW, Teamsters, HERE and SEIU, have stepped forward with ambitious contract fights, strikes and new organizing campaigns. It’s the union members and the unorganized workers themselves who bring the plans and campaigns into reality. UPS drivers, warehouse workers, fast food workers, child care and health care providers, Starbucks workers, and autoworkers, are all saying we’re fed up!
Fed up? Yep! Record corporate profits and billions of tax dollars going for wars, but many of us have low wages, poor benefits, unsafe working conditions, lack of job security, unaffordable housing and healthcare, and deteriorating communities and environment.
We know that workers and the poor all over the world face many challenges. Stand with us this May Day to let them know, to let each other know, that there is more to unite us than divides us. To know that we can take up this fight together. To know that we won’t win every fight right away but the struggle itself will pave the way for the future. As the Irish poet W.B. Yeats wrote: “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” Now is the moment to take action in any way you can. We will pave the way today and for the future.