NEWS
BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN
SUPPORTERS
OF IMMIGRANTS
RIGHTS RALLY
AT THE OREGON
STATE CAPITOL
PHOTO COURTESY CAUSA
MAY DAY!
Rallies and marches celebrate immigrants and workers
ugene might be more apt to recognize the first of May as Beltaine, an ancient pagan
holiday marking the beginning of summer, but local unions and workers’ rights
organizations would like you to know that May Day is also International Workers'
Day, featuring events locally and in Salem calling attention to worker and immi-
grant rights.
Lonnie Douglas of Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network points to Chicago’s Haymar-
ket Massacre as the launching point for the modern May Day. While May Day protests and
celebrations might have more traction theses days in Europe and elsewhere, the origins are
with American unions, he says.
Douglas says the first May Day in 1886 led to more than “300,000 workers in 13,000
businesses across the U.S. walking off their jobs in protest against the abuses and greed of
the rich bosses.” In Chicago, 40,000 workers went out on strike demanding an eight-hour
workday.
Two days later, Chicago police fired on protesters and striking steel workers, killing at
least two workers. Then, on May 4, 1886, Douglas says, nearly 3,000 workers gathered in
Haymarket Square. A bomb was thrown into police ranks, killing seven. The police fired
on the workers.
In the wake of the Haymarket affair, International Workers' Day was born.
Douglas says that, in conjunction with local unions, ESSN is using May Day “as an op-
portunity to engage with working class folks and be reminded that all the struggles we have
today were fought 100 years ago in our country.”
He adds, “As workers, we have gotten lax and let corrupt politicians and corporations
take away the prosperity people fought and bled and died for.”
There will be no politicians speaking at the May 1 “We are the Working Class” event,
Douglas says, though they will be there in the crowd. Instead, he says, Lane County Indus-
trial Workers of the World will be hosting a “Soap Box speak out” in which working class
people can share their stories.
There will also be facilitated discussions of “What is a Worker,” “How to Build the
Power of Workers in our Community” and musical performances by the Raging Grannies,
among others. The Neighborhood Anarchist Collective “will be hosting a fair share table
and taking donations for our unhoused community.”
Farther afield, Joel Iboa of CAUSA, Oregon’s immigrants rights organization, says the
group will be holding a rally at the state capitol in Salem, also on May 1.
“The immigrant rights movement has been using May Day as a rallying call for immi-
grants because there are so many immigrant workers, he says.
According to Iboa, CAUSA has been marching to Oregon’s Capitol steps for the past
10 years.
“This is an opportunity for folks to stand with immigrants and workers across our state
and send a clear message that we won’t be silenced by Trump’s anti-worker and anti-immi-
grant policies,” he says.
Iboa says the focus of the May Day March and Rally is driver licenses for all, defending
Oregon’s sanctuary law, standing together for education and solidarity with unions
State Sen. James Manning will speak, and Iboa says that Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will
be signing legislation into law that maintains driving privileges for Oregon’s Dreamers and
temporary protective status holders by permitting them to use expired documentation to
renew or replace a driver license.
E
The ESSN May Day “We are the Working Class” event is 2 to 7 pm Tuesday, May 1, at Eugene’s downtown Park
Blocks at 8th and Oak; more info from essn@solidaritynetwork.org. CAUSA’s May Day March and Rally is 11:30
am to 2 pm at the Oregon State Capitol, 900 Court Street NE, Salem; to find out more or coordinate a ride from
Eugene, contact Joel Iboa at joel@causaoregon.org or find the event on Facebook.
eugeneweekly.com • A pril 26, 2018
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