Minneapolis, MN – Activists will gather virtually to celebrate May Day here, on Saturday, May 2. The 4 p.m. gathering is taking the place of the originally scheduled annual May Day dinner celebration, which the Twin Cities branch of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) has held for over 20 years.
El primer de mayo es Día Internacional de los Trabajadores. Es día para celebrar los logros de nuestra clase y para mirar hacia al futuro. Enfrentamos a verdaderos retos. La elite corporativa – los capitalistas monopolistas que gobiernan – no pueden hacer nada correctamente. Están hipnotizados por las ganancias y los beneficios a corto plazo. Es lo mismo para sus representantes en la Casa Blanca y en el Congreso. Decenas de miles de personas quienes podrían haber vivido han fallecido por la pandemia. El capitalismo se ha demostrado una vez más que es un sistema fallido. En 2020 durante el Primer de Mayo estamos comprometidos a poner fin a la hegemonía de este sistema criminal.
May 1 is International Workers Day. It is a day to celebrate the accomplishments of our class and to look to the future. We have real challenges in front of us. The corporate elite – the monopoly capitalists, who rule this country – can’t do anything right. They are mesmerized by profit and short-term gain. The same goes for their political representatives in the White House and Congress. Tens of thousands of people who could have lived have perished in the pandemic. Capitalism has once again shown itself to be a failed system, and on May Day 2020, we stand committed to ending the reign of this criminal system.
According to April 23 report in Granma, “On Havana's Lenin Hill, a small group of trade union leaders, headed by Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, Party Political Bureau member and general secretary of the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC), dedicated a floral tribute to the legendary Bolshevik, who played a key role in the Russian Revolution, the greatest lesson in the annals of history of what the emancipated working class can achieve in unity of thought and action, guided by socialist principles.”
Chicago, IL – Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) will be marking International Workers Day virtually with talks from leaders of workers struggles in Chicago. The Sunday, May 3 forum will be streamed from the FRSO Chicago page via Facebook Live at 4 p.m.
Tampa, FL – Florida FRSO members are holding a webinar May 1, May Day, to highlight the struggles taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare workers, Teamsters, teachers and students will lead these discussions. Focus will be on the labor movement and the struggles of the working class as we navigate the pandemic. Speakers will highlight the steps they have taken to continue this struggle against the bourgeoisie who neglect the needs of the working class.
Los Angeles, CA – Luis Sifuentes, of the community group Cento CSO states, “Due to the pandemic and Stay At Home order in Los Angeles, Centro CSO is organizing this year's May Day as a car caravan through Boyle Heights with our demands: Jail killer cops, defend public education, and legalization for all – along with demands for hazard pay, better protections for workers in the front lines during this pandemic and expand COVID-19 testing in Black and brown communities.”
Jacksonville, FL – About 35 people gathered on May 1 to celebrate International Workers’ Day in Jacksonville. The rally was held in front of the Duval County Courthouse. Members of several local trade unions were present, including Letter Carriers, Teamsters, SEIU, Teachers, and IATSE. Other local activist groups included the Community Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, Progressive Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Network, the Northside Coalition, and the local Democratic Black Caucus.
Families unite to demand: Legalization for all, no Trump wall, no deportations!
Los Angeles, CA – On the afternoon of May 1, International Workers Day, Boyle Heights families, workers and students protested the Trump anti-immigrant attacks and raised the demand “Legalization for all” and “No Wall on the Mexico border!”
New York, NY – On May 1, hundreds of people in New York City celebrated on International Workers’ Day. The day was kicked off in Harlem, where a rally for the laundry workers was held as they demanded better working conditions. The day continued at a Trump Tower on Wall Street. Hundreds gathered near the Stock Exchange under the banner “No walls in the workers struggle.”
Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of hotel workers, members of HERE, marched in Minneapolis on May 1 to celebrate International Workers’ Day and demand a union contract that provides an adequate income where “one job is enough.” The hotel workers previous contract expired on May Day.
Madison WI – Thousands gathered on, May 1 in celebration of May Day in Wisconsin’s capital. Voces de la Frontera hosted the event and were able to bring in more than 17 different cities to attend.
Saint Paul, MN – Hundreds of immigrants, union members and activists marched to the Minnesota State Capitol on May 1, International Workers Day. They demanded that the state legislature pass a bill to give immigrants access to drivers licenses, without adding amendments to further criminalize immigrants. They also raised other demands for immigrant and workers’ rights while commemorating the workers who lost their lives in 1886 in the struggle for an eight-hour workday.
Caracas, Venezuela – On May 1, May Day, in the heart of downtown, 400,000 workers poured into the streets for two reasons: to honor their day, International Workers Day; and to celebrate the defeat of the coup attempt against their elected president Nicolas Maduro.
Los Angeles, CA – Boyle Heights families, workers and students will march on May 1, International Worker’s Day, to protest Trump’s anti-immigrant attacks and demand no wall on the Mexico border and no deportations. The May Day rally and march will start at 4:30 at the corner of Chavez and Mathews streets; and end at Mariachi Plaza for a rally.
May 1, International Workers Day, is a celebration of the heroic struggle for a better world waged by workers and oppressed people around the world. Monopoly capitalism is the system we fight against. This system is everywhere, from our low wages and the lack of affordable health care, to racist and bigoted laws, to the neverending war and oppression felt around the globe.
Dallas, TX – About 50 people gathered in Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff, Dallas to celebrate International Workers Day. The theme of the celebration was the resurgence of the strike in labor organizing, and recent victories for workers, such as the teachers' strikes.
Los Angeles, CA – On May 1, International Worker’s Day was marked in LA’s Eastside Boyle Heights. Boyle Heights is a historically Chicano/Latino neighborhood. In the past five years the neighborhood has seen an upsurge in police killings and an influx of charter schools trying to move in and poach students from public schools.
Gainesville, FL – This May Day, the Gainesville left mobilized to Bo Diddley Plaza. Gainesville’s activist community was represented by groups from various leftist groups. The celebration included speakers from organizations such as Industrial Workers of the World, Madres Sin Fronteras, the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons, and Gainesville National Women’s Liberation.
Denver, CO – Denver Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) held a gathering in front of the Colorado capitol building on May 1 to celebrate International Workers Day. The Front Range Socialist Party and John Brown Gun Club held a food and clothing drive at the same location.