The story of International Women’s Day began in New York City in 1909, when 20,000 women garment workers went on strike for 13 cold winter weeks to win better pay and working conditions. They worked seven days a week for less than a living wage. Their strike won improvements in wages as well as working and safety conditions. Two years later, German revolutionary Clara Zetkin, inspired by the women of New York, proposed that March 8 be celebrated around the world as International Women’s Day.

Nearly a hundred years after this amazing strike, women in the U.S. are still fighting for basic equal rights – equal pay for comparable work, affirmative action, full reproductive rights and quality, affordable childcare.

Working women are paid less than 80 cents on the dollar compared to men working the same jobs. The wage gap is even bigger for women of color. If women earned the same as men (working the same hours with the same education, age and union status and living in the same area), our annual family incomes would rise by $4000 and U.S. poverty rates would be cut in half.

Two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women, many of us single mothers. The minimum wage increase debated in Congress is not enough – on $15,000 a year, our families will still be living in poverty. As the government spends hundreds of billions of dollars on wars abroad, the government balances the budget on the backs of low-income women and our families. Billions of dollars are cut from social programs like welfare, while millions of people are forced to work for free in workfare programs. Women are more than a third of the undocumented immigrants in the U.S., now facing repressive and inhumane reforms proposed by Congress.

Women face inequality and injustice across the globe. 70% of the world’s hungry are women and girls. 80% of the world’s refugees are women and children. 33% of women report domestic abuse at some time in their lives. Women face the greatest challenges in Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Afghanistan, where U.S. bombs destroy their homes and U.S. bullets kill their loved ones. Women care for their children alone as husbands fight and die on the frontlines in U.S.-led and sponsored wars.

Colombia is one place where women have joined unions, peasant organizations and even guerrilla armies to confront a violent and undemocratic government supported by the United States. One such woman is Sonia, an important member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). She was captured in 2004 and is now on trial in the U.S. Sonia denies the charges against her and insists she is on trial only because she is, “a woman guerrilla fighter of the FARC.”

It should not be a crime for a woman to stand up and fight. Women will always be leaders and fighters in the people’s struggles. When women take a stand, it is something to celebrate, not prosecute. Progressive people must advance our demands for equality, justice and liberation for all. And in the spirit of international solidarity, we must oppose U.S. wars abroad and recognize women who fight for their people’s freedom.

International Women’s Day, like May Day, was born out of the struggles of the U.S. working class. With this great history in mind – and much important work before us – let us mark March 8, 2007.

#UnitedStates #Editorial #Editorials #InternationalWomensDay #ClaraZetkin #CommunistHoliday

In the U.S., we must remember and celebrate this important holiday, which is rooted in the struggle of working women. Our task today is to continue to unite the struggle of the working class with the women’s liberation movement. The important fights that affect all women – for equal rights, equal pay for comparable work, affirmative action, full reproductive rights and quality and affordable childcare – must be continued and reaffirmed.

Women make up half the population and anything that limits the participation and leadership of half a population will hurt all of the population. The demands of working-class women and women of color are a part of the demands of the multinational working class. The women’s liberation movement can only achieve its objectives through the full participation and leadership of all working-class women, independent of nationality, sexual orientation, ability or age.

In recent decades, the women’s liberation movement in the United States has been led by upper and middle class forces that have marginalized the struggles of working-class and oppressed nationality women. To achieve true liberation for women, the women’s liberation movement should unite with the struggles of the multinational working class, and all working and oppressed people should champion the demands for the emancipation of women.

International Women’s Day, along with May Day – International Workers Day – are the two great days of celebration and struggle that were born in the U.S. and have been taken up by working people everywhere. We urge every reader of this paper to participate in the celebrations being held in your city.

#UnitedStates #Editorial #ClaraZetkin #CommunistHoliday

International Women’s Day grew out of the struggle of working women in United States. In 1908, women, mainly from the garment industry, came together in New York City’s Rutgers Square to demand a strong union in the needle trades and the right to vote. In 1910, German revolutionary Clara Zetkin, having heard of the powerful protest in New York, proposed that March 8 be celebrated as International Women’s Day worldwide. Today, it is a holiday celebrated by millions of working people.

On March 8, the truth should be restated: the stronger the role of women in the people’s struggle, the stronger our movement as whole. It only stands to reason; women are one half of the population, and anything that limits the participation and leadership of women will weaken our collective efforts.

On March 8 we reaffirm our commitment to build the fight for the demands of working women and women of color, as well as the basic demands of the women’s liberation movement for equal rights, equal pay for comparable work, quality and affordable child care, affirmative action and full reproductive rights. We restate our belief that the women’s liberation movement can only achieve its objectives through the full participation and leadership of working-class women and women of color.

This year’s International Women’s Day comes at a time when war is on the agenda. We recall the words of Clara Zetkin at the outbreak of World War I:

“Who profits from this war?…The manufactures of rifles and cannons, of armor plate and torpedo boats, the shipyard owners and the suppliers of the armed forces’ needs. In the interest of their profits they have fanned hatred among the people, thus contributing to the outbreak of war. This war is beneficial for the capitalists in general. Did not the labor of the dispossessed and the exploited masses accumulate goods that those who created them are not allowed to use? They are too poor to pay for them! Labor’s sweat has created them and labor’s blood is supposed to create new foreign markets to dispose of them. Colonies are supposed to be conquered where the capitalists want to rob the natural resource and exploit the cheapest labor force.”

International Women’s Day, along with May Day – International Worker’s Day – are the two great days of celebration and struggle that were born in the U.S. and have been taken up by working people everywhere. We urge every reader of this paper to participate in the celebrations being held in your city

#UnitedStates #Editorial #Editorials #InternationalWomensDay #ClaraZetkin #CommunistHoliday

International Women's Day grew out of the struggle of working women in United States. In 1908, women, mainly from the garment industry, came together in New York City's Rutgers Square to demand a strong union in the needle trades and the right to vote. In 1910, German revolutionary Clara Zetkin, having heard of the powerful protest in New York, proposed that March 8 be celebrated as International Women's Day worldwide. Today, it is a holiday celebrated by millions of working people.

On March 8, the truth should be restated: the stronger the role of women in the people's struggle, the stronger our movement as whole. It only stands to reason; women are one half of the population, and anything that limits the participation and leadership of women will weaken our collective efforts.

On March 8 we reaffirm our commitment to build the fight for the demands of working women and women of color, as well as the basic demands of the women's liberation movement for equal rights, equal pay for comparable work, quality and affordable childcare, affirmative action and full reproductive rights. We restate our belief that the women's liberation movement can only achieve its objectives through the full participation and leadership of working-class women and women of color.

International Women's Day, along with May Day – International Worker's Day – are the two great days of celebration and struggle that were born in the U.S. and have been taken up by working people everywhere. We urge every reader of this paper to participate in the celebrations being held in your city.

#UnitedStates #Editorial #Editorials #InternationalWomensDay #ClaraZetkin #CommunistHoliday