May Day With Class

 

This May Day—when, traditionally, labor and immigrant activists have honored the struggles of workers’ fight for a better life—was already going to be different. As of earlier in the week, over 5,000 actions were scheduled, to make clear a workers’ agenda, not a billionaires’ agenda, should be the priority in America. May Day organizers are union and nonunion alike, and it’s the first time I can remember so many nonunion workers participating in a labor action. I hope you can join us to stand up for our rights; find your local actions here. Then, just yesterday, the Supreme Court took away more rights from Americans by gutting the Voting Rights Act, which was passed during the depths of Jim Crow racism to assure that people historically discriminated against had representation. But if you don’t believe that was yet another power grab—like the 2018 Janus case that eliminated the obligation for people with union representation to pay union dues—just look at what the governor of Louisiana did immediately after yesterday’s decision. Gov. Jeff Landry announced he will suspend a primary that was already in progress, to redraw congressional lines to give the Republicans a shot at keeping the majority in Congress. The announcement came less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision was issued. Billionaires and their allies know, like you know, that elections are key to who has power. Once again, they are attacking the power of regular folks to vote.  The folks seeking to take power away from workers are acting with intention—and we must act with intention too. One way to take action is to protest, but another is to vote. So tomorrow, let’s show up to register to vote. The billionaires and their allies are trying to silence us. Don’t let them. Check your registration now. Thank you if you’re already registered to vote; that’s fantastic! I would ask one more thing of you: Please ask one person to register to vote—a co-worker, a neighbor, a voting-age family member. If they are not registered, tell them to visit aft.turbovote.org. The people trying to rig the rules are counting on us to feel overwhelmed and give up. But we will not. Just like Janus didn’t end our voice at work, Callais will not stop us from exercising our voice in our government. We care. We fight. We show up. We vote. And we’re not done fighting. Thank you In solidarity, Randi Weingarten. American Federation of Teachers. P.S. So, what do you have planned for May Day? Reply with what you’ll be doing, and if you have great photos, be sure to tag us on social media!