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What is May Day?
May Day, or May 1st, has been celebrated across the globe for centuries as the end of winter and the beginning of spring. In addition to the celebration of spring, May 1st has come to be known as International Workers’ Day. On this day, many unions in the past have called for General Strikes. In fact, this name was given in commemoration for the lives lost during the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago. When someone threw a dynamite bomb into the crowd of workers striking for an eight hour work day, the police started firing into the crowd and many lives were lost. Since then, the history of May Day as a worker’s day has spread from the Americas and across the globe into Europe, Asia, and Africa.
This May Day, there has been a call for an international general strike and boycott. Unlike strikes in the past, this idea is unique. It is calling upon workers of all areas and occupations to participate, whether involved in a union or not. This General Strike also invites students to protest. At over 1 trillion dollars, student debt has surpassed both credit debt and auto loans as the largest source of debt in the United States.
In addition to the call for a strike, people are encouraged to boycott all stores and bank. This will virtually shut down, or slow down the system. This call to action comes in defiance of the way that 99% of Americans are being treated. Unemployment rates are unwavering, funding cuts including healthcare are being made across the spectrum, and minimum wage isn’t enough for us to live on anymore.
The backbone of Maine is the workers. Why should these hard working people have to decide whether they have enough money to pay rent, buy groceries, or keep up with health care costs for their families? And as students come out of high school and college, they are faced with a choice. Do they stay and become entangled in debt? Or do they leave in search of jobs? These are just a few of the reasons that this May 1st, 2012, we will hold a general strike.
It doesn’t make a difference who you are. We are all part of a system that takes us away from our families and what we enjoy because it forces us to work long hours for much less than we deserve. By withdrawing from the system that works for only a few, we can begin to make a new world for the many of us struggling. We can take this opportunity to see that there are thousands just like us, a community of support and hope. We can begin to believe that we deserve better. You deserve better.
This May Day, there has been a call for an international general strike and boycott. Unlike strikes in the past, this idea is unique. It is calling upon workers of all areas and occupations to participate, whether involved in a union or not. This General Strike also invites students to protest. At over 1 trillion dollars, student debt has surpassed both credit debt and auto loans as the largest source of debt in the United States.
In addition to the call for a strike, people are encouraged to boycott all stores and bank. This will virtually shut down, or slow down the system. This call to action comes in defiance of the way that 99% of Americans are being treated. Unemployment rates are unwavering, funding cuts including healthcare are being made across the spectrum, and minimum wage isn’t enough for us to live on anymore.
The backbone of Maine is the workers. Why should these hard working people have to decide whether they have enough money to pay rent, buy groceries, or keep up with health care costs for their families? And as students come out of high school and college, they are faced with a choice. Do they stay and become entangled in debt? Or do they leave in search of jobs? These are just a few of the reasons that this May 1st, 2012, we will hold a general strike.
It doesn’t make a difference who you are. We are all part of a system that takes us away from our families and what we enjoy because it forces us to work long hours for much less than we deserve. By withdrawing from the system that works for only a few, we can begin to make a new world for the many of us struggling. We can take this opportunity to see that there are thousands just like us, a community of support and hope. We can begin to believe that we deserve better. You deserve better.