URGENT! Sign the online petition to send messages saying NO RACIST ANTI-IMMIGRANT ARIZONA-TYPE LAWS to the Obama Administration and the Governors, Congressional Delegations and Leislatures of all states where such laws are pending!

Unity NOT racism!
Unity NOT anti-immigrant bigotry!
Unity NOT islamaphobia!

Only a unified workers' struggle can win JOBS, reinforce health care, save our schools and restore all social benefits.

Solidarity NOW.

Don't let the warmakers once again misuse the memory of 9/11 to prepare other illegal, criminal wars of aggression against peoples in Moslem countries.

Endorse this Call to Action AT http://www.iacenter.org/moslemsolidarityendorse

Download this flier

Download this flier

Festival-Foro del Inmigrante del Bronx

Legalizacion Para Tod@s Ahora
Alto a la Ley Racista de Arizona
Basta de redadas y deportaciones

Dia: Sabado 24 de Julio
Hora: 2:00 pm
Lugar: Brook Park [3 blocks from 6 train to Brook stop]
Calle: 141 St at Brook Ave in Mott Haven, South Bronx
Ciudad o población: Bronx, NY

Ver mapa

Habra Musica,Folklore,Danzas,Mesas de Literatura,Comidas Tipicas y expondran lideres de las comunidades,Barrios y Sindicatos.

Convocan: Movimiento de la Peña del Bronx y de la Coalicion Primero deMayo

Grupo Cajolá Monthly Update: August 2010

View People’s Video Network footage of the march

25,000 on May Day at Union Square demand:
'Legalization & jobs for all workers!'

May Day at Union Square was a stunning sight as thousands poured into the park to send a resounding message of repudiation against the recently passed SB1071 law in Arizona. They demanded legalization for the undocumented as well as jobs, housing, education and social services for all.

Union Square has been the site of previous May Day rallies. This year a program of speakers and revolutionary rappers was followed by a two-mile march downtown to Federal Plaza. Their ranks grew along the way as they chanted "Boycott Arizona!" and "Si se puede!" (Yes, we can!).

People of all nationalities who crowded the sidewalks of lower Broadway were clearly friendly to the march. As they read the signs and heard the chants, some joined in while others gave peace signs and thumbs up.

When the last of the huge crowd was finally able to squeeze into Federal Plaza after 5 p.m. for a second rally, it was possible to put a number on the demonstration: 25,000 angry but hopeful people had come out to demand legalization for all undocumented workers and their families and to denounce the bill for "immigration reform" being readied by Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.

This bill would make "securing the border" its top priority and would force all workers to carry a biometric identity card to prove their citizenship status to their bosses.

Eight out of every 10 marchers appeared to represent Latin American and Caribbean communities, but there were also significant contingents of Filipinos, South Asians, Africans and Pacific islanders.

In addition, African Americans, who were well represented among the speakers, emphasized the great importance of Black-Brown unity against racism and discrimination.

This was the fifth May Day action to be called by the May 1st Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights, which formed in New York after the tremendous movement of immigrant workers across the country began in the spring of 2006. Demonstrations and what amounted to a general strike on May 1, 2006, had tied up whole cities, especially in the West and Southwest, in opposition to the reactionary Sensenbrenner bill.

Several speakers at this year's May Day demonstration represented workers in large unions — Charles Jenkins of the Transport Workers, Clarence Thomas of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Mike Gimbel of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Brenda Stokely of the Million Worker March Movement co-chaired the rally. They all challenged the labor movement as a whole to take a clear stand supporting immigrant rights.

At the Union Square rally several well-known Hip-hop artists, including Rebel Diaz, rapped in defiance of repressive authority. Their cultural performances in English and Spanish, interspersed with a broad collection of speakers, added both emotion and revolutionary politics to the program.

Large contingents came from the Bronx, Queens and Washington Heights in upper Manhattan. Day laborers, whose right to work is under serious threat, came in buses and vans from Long Island and New Jersey. Organizations that mobilized included Vamos Unidos, Desis Rising Up and Moving, Committee to Support the Struggle of the Haitian People, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment and several Ecuadorean groups. A spirited Puerto Rican and Honduran delegation moved the crowd.

Vicky Palaez, a popular columnist from El Diario/La Prensa, addressed the crowd amid many cheers. A young Mexican girl bravely spoke of how her father had been torn away from his family.

Teresa Gutierrez, a spokesperson for the May 1 Coalition for Immigrant Rights — the group that initiated the call for May Day in Union Square the last five years — said, "Arizona is the home base of arch-racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio and others who falsely blame all problems of U.S. society on immigrants. These reactionaries thought they could get away with passing this repressive Arizona law, which is a threat to all immigrants, an insult to every Latino and Latina person, an assault on every person of color and an attack on all workers.

"This law has boomeranged on the racists. It ignited opposition nationally. It has aroused a new movement with a combative spirit that we all saw not only in Union Square today but also in Los Angeles, in Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona, in Texas and Chicago and in 80 cities around the United States."

Immigrant rights activist Isabel Garcia in Tucson, Ariz., spoke to the second rally by telephone. Cheers went up as she reported that thousands had demonstrated there, too, despite the terror tactics of Homeland Security and its immigration arm, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The protest also stressed that the overall economic crisis now devastating the working class is what is driving right-wing politicians and government repression. Many speakers pointed out how the bosses and their political lackeys are fueling a hate campaign in order to prevent workers from uniting and fighting for jobs, housing, health care and education.

Larry Holmes of the Bail Out the People Movement, which helped build the May Day protest, spoke about doing everything possible to respond to the racist attack in Arizona, including exploring an action on June 19, an important date in the struggle against slavery known also as "Juneteenth." Holmes also urged those present to be in Washington on May 8 for a march for a WPA-type jobs program.

Bernadette Ellorin of the Filipino organization BAYAN-USA and a co-coordinator of the May 1 Coalition, closed the Federal Plaza rally by saying that "the solution for the anti-immigrant, anti-worker climate is for all of us to build the broadest anti-imperialist working class movement in the very belly of the beast."

Toward the evening, news arrived from Jackson Heights, Queens that police had harassed and arrested two women who were undocumented street vendors. Commenting on the arrests, Teresa Gutierrez said: "This shows that it is not just enough to repudiate the Arizona legislation. Mayor Bloomberg has even done that at the same time that the police carry out terror against day laborers and street vendors in New York. This is why the May Day marches around the country were so important, as it shows the movement is not going away but is building."

Beat Back the Arizona Attack!

ALL OUT for May Day – Union Square, 14th St – Noon

Being at Union Square on May 1, many thousands strong will be an important part of overturning racist, anti-immigrant legislation just passed in Arizona. This is an intense week. We have the ability to send a powerful message of outrage and solidarity.

Here is the schedule:

• Come by any afternoon or evening to pick up full color, glossy May 1 Union Square flyers and posters for last minute distributions.
• Help on the Tues, Wed, Thurs 2pm to 8pm work sessions. Thousands of signs, placards and banners have to be put together.
• Wed at 4pm major press conference of immigrant activists at Union Square, 14th St & Broadway organized by Rebel Diaz and May 1 Workers and Immigrant Rights Coalition with the demand BOYCOTT ARIZONA
• Wed at 6:30 at 55 West 17th St, 5th Floor, May 1 Workers and Immigrant Rights Coalition Last Meeting before May Day
• On Thursday, April 29 there is a major union rally at 4pm called Show Down on Wall Street. Gather at City Hall for Rally, then March. Help us distribute thousands of May 1 Union Square flyers and signs. Come to the office at 55 W 17th St by 2pm or meet us and pick up material for distribution at Murray & Broadway, across from City Hall from 3:30 on. (Call or TEXT preferred to 646-353-2708 or 201-388-7428 to find us in City Hall area or at Wall Street.)

See you SATURDAY – MAY DAY - NOON at Union Square, 14th St & Broadway.
We need help from 7 am and on through the day with set-up, sound, security and distributions.

--Statement of the International Migrants Alliance on the 100th Year of the International Working Women’s Day

Read More>>

The Black Workers for Justice Say: Unite in the Fight for Immigration Reform

March 21, 2010 represents the next step in the long and powerful struggle for justice that caught the attention of the world on May Day 2006. On that day, but starting in April, the Latino community along with other immigrants stood up by the millions, all over this country, to demand justice and an end to the unfair and undemocratic immigration system in the U.S.

Those powerful marches, rallies and demonstrations helped to revive May Day in the country where it was born. It also showed non-immigrant workers that they must stand up and fight no matter how great the challenges and no matter how afraid they are. The struggle for Immigration reform is on the cutting edge of the social movements in this country which have been guided by the idea that "Another World is Possible."

Read More>>   

Press Release:
In Response to Current Calls for Immigration Reform:

NEW YORK CITY’S MAY 1ST COALITION DEMANDS LEGALIZATION
FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS NOW!

<<Read the Press Release>>

CALL FOR MAY DAY 2010 UNITY COALITION

May Day 2010 is rapidly approaching.

This year’s May Day is more important than ever as the economic and financial crisis continues to strike a heavy blow on workers from the U.S. and around the world. A recovery with no jobs is a recovery solely for the multinational corporations, who are raking in record profits as the people face increasing poverty, joblessness, homelessness, disease and death.

The escalation of war abroad in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the racist, ruthless military occupation of Haiti demand our response.

A powerful and massive united fight-back against this onslaught is urgently needed.

May Day 2010 provides us with that opportunity.

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Statement of New York May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights In Solidarity with the Haitian People

January 22, 2010

Haiti has suffered a terrible natural disaster at the cost of hundreds of thousands of precious lives. This natural disaster however, has been bitterly aggravated by racism and imperialist domination.

The May 1st Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights extends its solidarity and condolence to the Haitian people for their losses, and demands that the dignity and autonomy of the Haitian people be respected.

The cynical approach of the US government, offering nothing but an eighteen month extension of stay to undocumented Haitian nationals here, is not only an insult, it is a symptom of the opportunism with which the US government is treating this disaster. The United States government has, from the outset, treated the earthquake as a military opportunity to occupy Haiti and to enforce the power and control of the United States and of Haitian corporate and ruling classes, such as the sweatshop bosses who comprise the 'Group of 184'.

This is not new; the US has been enforcing its control, exploiting, occupying and oppressing the Haitian people for a long time.

The Pentagon has taken control of "rescue" operations, controlling the airport, and determining who shall be allowed to land. But the only ones who have been rescued have been wealthy individuals, and the U.S. military has denied landing rights to Doctors Without Borders, to Cuba, CARICOM countries, Venezuela, and  Argentina.

The US operations are military and political, not humanitarian. As Haiti Liberté newspaper has noted, the "already submissive Haitian government has given up the control of the national airport and is delinquent in performing even the most basic duties of a sovereign country." United States State Department and the Pentagon are "using this disaster to promote the construction of commercial enterprises to 'rebuild' Haiti, enforced by a muscular American military presence and subservient UN and Haitian police forces."

The Obama administration has said that undocumented Haitian immigrants in the U.S. may have a stay of deportation for eighteen months. But the United States Department of Homeland Security is planning on construction of private detention centers - prisons - for the Haitian immigrants who remain in the United States. This will make the immigrants who register to stay the eighteen months vulnerable to both arrest and deportation. If the US government's handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster is any indication, there will not be any rapid reconstruction of civilian infrastructure in Port au Prince, Carfour, or any of the towns which have been devastated, so this eighteen month "offer" is designed to further criminalize and marginalize Haitian people in the United States.

Meanwhile ships from the US Coast Guard are swarming around Haiti preventing Haitians from leaving. The US government is preparing the concentration camp that is Guantanamo for Haitian refugees.

The New York May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights calls for the right of all Haitian refugees to remain in the United States, free of any concern for document status. We demand that the Haitian people be given the right, if they so choose, of immediate dual citizenship of Haiti and the United States.

The New York May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights calls for the end of US military occupation of Haiti. We also call on the right of return for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Haiti, who because of U.S. intervention, was never allowed to complete his term, much like the case of President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras.

The New York May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights demands that the Haitian people be allowed to control their own destinies, whether staying in their homeland or immigrating to the United States.

Haitians have the right to develop their own National Popular Plan for reconstruction. They have the right to ask any nation on earth to assist them in their reconstruction, and to reject any nation that attempts to use the disaster of an earthquake to occupy and oppress their nation.

We also demand the immediate release of Jean Montrevil, a Haitian immigrant currently being unjustly detained. We join with the call of many in demanding his release and no deportation. For more information on the case of Jean Montrevil, visit http://www.familiesforfreedom.org/httpdocs/our_families/jean_jani.html

May 1st Coalition - Who We Are

May 1 Coalition Steering Committee & Co-Coordinators:

• Bernadette Ellorin, Bayan USA Filipino Organization, Co-Coordinator
• Carlos Canales, Long Island Workplace Project, Co-Coordinator
• Charles Jenkins, Second Vice President, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, NYC Chapter, TWU Activist, Co-Coordinator
• Chuck Mohan, Guyanese Workers Alliance
• Comrade Shahid, Pakistan USA Freedom Forum, Co-Coordinator
• Daniel Vila, Immigrant Workers Movement
• Falloue Guyere, Senegalese Workers Association, Co-Coordinator
• Hector Castillo, Bronx Community Coalitions United, Co-Coordinator
• Honduras USA Resistencia
• Immigrant Workers Movement
• Jornaleros Unidos de Woodside
• Lucy Pagoada, Honduras USA Resistencia
• Marina Diaz, Centro Tecumen Guatemalan Organization
• Mike Gimble, AFSCME, Chair of Community Labor Committee, Co-Coordinator
• Nieves Ayres, La Peña del Bronx
• Philippine Forum
• Teresa Gutierrez, International Migrant Alliance, International Action Center, Co-Coordinator
• Victor Toro, fighting for Political Asylum