May Day Global General Strike

Time	Sunday, May 1 · 12:00am - 11:30pm
Location	We Are Everywhere! (International/Global) Resistance Without Borders
Created By	GLOBAL STRIKE 2011
More Info	Beyond the May Day United coalition, beyond liberal recuperation, towards a global insurrection... "A general strike is when workers from a variety of different jobs, trades, and workplaces all go on strike together, at the same time. The strength of the general strike being how many people are striking, in how many different sectors, and really how much it interrupts the function of business as usual. The motivation behind a gen...eral strike? It can be more reformist with the intent to put pressure on those in power to make concessions. Or it can be more revolutionary, i.e. the anarcho-syndicalist idea of calling one massive co-ordinated general strike, which theoritically would allow the strikers to reorganize society once everyone stopped working. Historically this idea has been proven naive for a number of reasons, but the general strike coupled with other tactics has proven inseparable from effective social struggles…" (From "General Strikes: What Wisconsin Can Learn from Places Like Greece And California" @ http://ghostofvanzetti.net/blog/) The U.S. call to action we're building off of (and beyond): For Immediate Release: May Day United Contact: Jen Waller, 646-535-6291 February 22, 2011 Amid Escalating Attacks, Worker Groups to Build National Network for Powerful May Day Actions May Day United will promote dynamic grassroots actions on May 1, 2011 for jobs with dignity and true equality New York, NY- Worker and community-based organizations around the country announced today that they will build a national network to promote a dynamic day of action for quality jobs and workers' rights on May 1, 2011, International Workers Day. The network, May Day United, will work with local groups across the country to power a spirited response to the extreme attacks taking place against working people and their labor unions in the public and private sectors and to challenge the increasing exploitation of immigrant workers and their families. "Public workers are fighting heroically for the rights of unions in Wisconsin and other states. Immigrants and students are organizing against racial profiling and the ban on ethnic studies in Arizona. While the backs of working families are against the wall, people are out in the streets and are fighting back," said David Bacon, the workers' rights journalist. "The May Day marches this year will give us the chance to bring these efforts together, and show that we’re all fighting for the same thing—jobs, equality, and basic rights." Inspired by the historic May Day actions of 2006, the massive protests in Wisconsin, the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and the original struggle for the eight-hour work day commemorated by May 1st actions around the globe, May Day United invites everyday working families across the country to stand together against increasing corporate and governmental assaults on the right to join a union and the right to work free of anti-immigrant discrimination. Organizations can join the network at http://www.maydayunited.org/. "I came to this country to work hard for my children and that's what I've done," said Maria Corona, an immigrant worker in New York City. "When my co-workers and I stood up against wage theft, the employer fired us all. Even though a judge found our firing illegal, we haven't seen any justice because the employer is resisting the court order with arguments about our immigration status. I won't be going to work on May 1st, I'll be on the streets for justice and I hope to see many with me." May Day United will not be directly organizing demonstrations on May 1st - the network will use organizing, compelling digital and print materials, as well as legal support to increase participation in existing May Day demonstrations and assist communities in organizing their own actions. The organizations that have come together to build the network expect that many groups around the country will respond to the call for dynamic and assertive actions on May 1, 2011 in favor of jobs with dignity and true equality. The convening organizations, listed below, issued a call to action today which can be viewed and endorsed at http://maydayunited.org/2011/02/19/ - * American Dream Community Agency/Centro de Legalizacion * Applied Research Center * Bay Area Movement for a Democratic Society (Concord, Richmond, Oakland, & Vallejo) * Brandworkers International * Center for New Community * Focus on the Food Chain * Food Chain Workers Alliance * Fuerza Mundial Secretariat/Communications * International Labor Rights Forum * Jornaleros Unidos de Woodside * Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (San Diego Chapter) * Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance * National Lawyers Guild Labor & Employment Committee * Northwest Arkansas Workers’ Justice Center * Oyate “The Peoples’ Land” (Indigenous Group/Nation in California) * Peace & Freedom Party (Contra Costa Co. and Solano Co.) * Philippine Forum * Resident Engagement Group of Richmond, Virginia * San Francisco Living Wage Coalition * Students for a Democratic Society (Diablo Valley College, Napa Valley College) * Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice * TIC/Pueblos en Movimiento (International Tribunal of Conscience) May Day United is an emerging national network of worker and community-based organizations promoting dynamic actions on May 1st, 2011 for jobs with dignity and true equality. The network is on the web athttp://maydayunited.org/, on Facebook athttp://facebook.com/maydayunited, and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/mdunited.