Reports from May Day 2007preliminary report of may day @ NYCThe demonstration for immigrant and worker rights in New York City was a huge success. About 25,000 people attended, over 40 groups spoke at the rally and lots of people reported that they were boosted by the event and felt great about it. The contingents organized by a diverse group of coalitions looked strong as they marched from Union Square to Federal Plaza. On the program were many labor activists, many nationalities and important issues such as Katrina, Mumia and the war were raised. A full report on the program will be on the website shortly. Its success however was clouded by the conduct of the police against both the march organization and against demonstrators in the march. A worse situation occurred at one of the demonstrations in Los Angeles where rubber bullets and tear gas were used against protesters. In New York, the police violated the parade permit we had obtained by breaking up the march for a very long period of time, resulting in dividing the demonstration in an attempt to chill its unity and militancy. Furthermore and most important, several protesters were harassed by the police and even taken to jail. Several coalition members accompanied the family and friends of one of the protesters who was roughed up and arrested by the police. Two National Lawyer Guild lawyers also came with us to the 6th police precinct after the demonstration. What happened is that this group of workers who had come from their job along with some of their family members were wearing masks that are commonly worn in Mexico. One policeman tried to grab the mask off of one brother, choking him in the process. The police demanded they take off the masks and then hauled them to jail. In Jail, one policeman psychologically harassed the worker by taunting him with deportation. His pants were badly torn and his back was bruised. This morning at 9a.m. two May 1 coalition members accompanied the family of one of the arrestees to the court. The good news is that he was let go by 12noon or so and without bail. The bad news is that the charges were not dropped by the Prosecutors office and he must return to court July 17. This worker and his friends and family are willing to go public with this harassment. In fact, they waited for a photographer and journalist from El Diario to come to the court room so that pictures could be taken. They understand that it is part of the attempt to criminalize immigrants and workers who attempt to organize. We are in the process of working with the National Lawyers Guild to respond to this arrest as well as get information on the other arrests. Coalition members are also gathering information on other incidences of police harassment. If you have knowledge of such an incident or were a victim of police harassment, please reply to this email. You can also call Teresa at 917.328.6470. Representatives of the May 1st coalition are speaking with representatives of the National coalition to respond nationally to this harassment. Despite this police harassment, all the coalitions and people around the country who worked so hard to respond in the streets against the raids & deportations, say no to STRIVE and to urge a fightback despite the climate of fear promoted by ICE and the government, should be commended for their hard work and dedication. Si ser puede! Teresa Gutierrez Los Angeles Immigrant Rights May Day Conference States:On to the May 1st Great American Boycott IIStop the Raids & Deportations NOW!! Conference formed the:
In an historic development in the U.S. immigrant rights struggle, a coalition of national organizations met in Los Angeles on Feb. 3 - 4 to plan and coordinate the "Great American Boycott II" for May 1. Out of this formation came the National Coordinating Committee of the National May Day Movement for Workers and Immigrant Rights. That national body includes:
Called by the March 25 Coalition, initiator of the 2006 May Day actions that brought millions into the streets, the coalition aims to defend immigrant workers and show their power by bringing "business as usual" to a halt across the country on May Day. A press conference and demonstration condemning the raids and kicking off the conference, called by the March 25 Coalition organizers on Feb. 2 outside the Los Angeles Federal Building, drew almost 100 people and much national and local press. Two Latina women from a local factory raided the previous day came and described the brutalization by ICE agents, who had held guns to the heads of workers. Regarding the raids Chito Quijano, one of the speakers at the plenary sessions that began Saturday, Feb. 3 who is the national chair of BAYAN-USA and organizer with the California Nurses Association stated: "Sensenbrenner was the fire that fed last year's massive protest. This year, the raids will be the fuel." A plenary on "Globalization of Immigrant labor and Transnational Capitalism" featured Teresa Gutierrez of the May 1 Coalition in New York and William Robinson, professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Robinson outlined the growth of immigration and repression in the U.S. over the last 30 years, pointing out that contemporary "transnational capitalism" makes the profits it needs to sustain its existence through the value produced by low-wage labor of immigrants. To keep those profits it must maintain economic, legal and cultural control of immigrant workers. Gutierrez highlighted the use of racism to divide the working class and posed a crucial question: "How, given the repression against immigrants, can we sustain the magnificent movement begun May Day 2006, and bring unity to the immigrant rights struggle?" Relating to this question, Javier Rodriguez, co-initiator of the March 25 Coalition said at a plenary: "This conference is significant because it is the first organized national effort to convene the major coalitions and groups that are more to the left, that initiated last year's May 1 boycott. This is the movement that will attempt to coalesce to establish a historical alliance of Latinos and African Americans. All the roots are here at this conference, with significant representation from both groups." Part of that representation of African Americans came from Clarence Thomas, an intitiator of the Million Worker March , member of International Longshore Workers Union Local 10 and the Alameda County Central Labor Council's Executive Board. He paid homage to the country and people of Mexico for their support in the historical struggle against U.S. slavery, and called the absolute right of Mexicans to travel across the U.S.-Mexican border without reprisals. Thomas vowed to return to Local 10 to ask that it participate in May 1 in a "meaningful way," adding, "This is a rank-and-file movement, and that's what's keeping it afloat." Chris Silvera, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 808 who has also been the president of the 400,000-member Teamsters Black Caucus was also an invited plenary speaker who led a workshop on Black-Brown unity. International solidarity took on a big emphasis at this conference with a plenary featuring Pablo Franco Hernández of the Unión de Juristas de Mexico and attorney of Oaxacan political prisoners. In addition, Senator Jose Jacquies Medina of the PRD of Mexico also spoke at this plenary session. A video message from Elvira Arellano brought forward the special oppression and resistance of women immigrant workers. Arellano, founder of La Familia Unida Latina, has been in sanctuary in Chicago for six months in defiance of threated deportation. She affirmed, "I am not a criminal. I am a mother and a father to my son. I fight so the undocumented people will be respected." Demands and Points of Unity include:
Statement from ConferenceNATIONAL MAY DAY MOVEMENT FOR WORKER & IMMIGRANT RIGHTSMay 1st, 2007 we will be out in the streets, not shopping or selling, if possible not working; but Marching. On February 3rd & 4th, 2007, a Conference hosted by the March 25th Coalition culminated in a call for a national day of actions for workers and Immigrant’s Rights. The day, May 1st, 2007. During the two day conference, representatives from around the country came together in Los Angeles, Cal. and agreed on a National Campaign to bring about true comprehensive Immigration Reform. From New England to the South West, from the South to the North West, people came together at the Lioya Law school to begin to map out a plan of action leading to May Day mobilizations. It was agreed that it was the unprecedented massive presence in the streets during 2006 that stopped the draconian and fascistic Sensenbrennen Bill from becoming the law of the land & that we need to be on the move again to further the cause of Immigrant and workers rights. People left Los Angeles unified and committed to building unity with other forces around the country around the need of once again having the many millions of undocumented workers and their families partake in raising their voices along with the rest of the people in this country. This most take place in order to now put an end to the intense raids and deportations taking place around the country, and stopping the President’s push towards guest workers programs which only benefit Corporations and enslave Immigrant workers. This urgent & immediate need must be addressed as the first step towards achieving full legalization for the 12 to 20 million human beings living in the shadowes and persecuted in this country while their labor and consumption is a cornerstone of this country’s economy. May 1 is the next necessary step towards a comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill that does not tear apart families or criminalizes the millions of people who have been forced by globalization and the so called Free Trade agreements to leave their families, communities, country's of origin and ways of life, to risk their lives and come here to work. Behind a set of demands and Points of Unity which include:
It was agreed to hold a national l Press conference on a date yet to be determine as well as local activities leading up to a National boycott and Mobilizations on May 1st, 2007. |
