May Day 2011 was different than other years, this year ties of solidarity, as one class of workers, was more broadly displayed than other years. This year the immigrant marches, almost in every city were joined by the newest sectors of workers under attack, the state and city employees.
In recent months we have seen massive protests in many cities across the United States, fighting new laws to take away workers, rights. These demonstrations show that people have power beyond filling out a ballot every year or two.
They show that masses of united people can become engaged and form broad sections of people, ready to take a stand and take action. The occupation of the Capitol Building in Madison, Wis., has been a tremendous display of solidarity, capturing the attention of the world, projecting the demands of Wisconsin’s working class.
The attacks on workers’ rights are pulling hundreds of thousands of people into action across the country. From the streets of Madison to Michigan to Ohio to Indiana the enthusiasm is palpable, the solidarity infectious, and the momentum is growing. Recall campaigns and legal challenges to egregious new laws have gained tremendous momentum.
These campaigns mobilize people and can have visible results, yet we must take these demands even further. As historic labor champion Lucy Parsons once said, “Never be deceived that the rich will permit you to vote away their wealth.”
Every corner of this country is under attack: from Michigan to Oregon, from Arizona to Florida to Connecticut. Dozens of states are considering bills that will limit the collective bargaining of public sector unions and other major attacks on the rights of workers.
Lawmakers have used the deficits that forty-four states face as the impetus to slash workers’ rights, pay, and benefits. These new laws aim to shift the burden of the economic crisis from extremely wealthy individuals and corporations onto the working class.
Taxpayers have already paid enough, bailing out banks and financial institutions with trillions of dollars, and are now taking to the streets to say, “We will not pay anymore to solve this crisis!” Voices rising from the struggle are demanding, “Tax the rich!”
The budget deficits, which most states face, are not due to a lack of money. There is no shortage of money. The rich and the corporations have your money.
Corporate profits are the highest they’ve ever been in the 60 years that the Department of commerce has been keeping records. These profits have been generated through the use of new technologies in automation and robotics, which have contributed to a “jobless recovery.”
Millions of jobs are being permanently eliminated and millions more are on the chopping block. Indeed all sectors of work, from store clerks to car builders, even lawyers, are made vulnerable by cost-efficient automated technologies. This is why we see the corporate assault on the workers — the corporations will no longer provide wages, benefits and services for workers they don’t need.
With labor costs down and productivity up, profits are soaring. Even though corporations are making more money than ever, legal loopholes and tax evasion techniques allow many of America’s corporations and wealthiest individuals to pay little to nothing in taxes.
Countless times since the recession began in 2008 we have seen the government align itself closer and closer with the corporations. In effect, the corporations and the government have merged, creating the basis for an all out attack on democracy.
The demonstrations in Wisconsin and elsewhere present the working class with an opportunity to take a decisive stand for its own self-interest. As the economic crisis plays out, more people are seeing the need to rebuild the economy in a way that meets the needs of the many; this is a process that must unfold, with each step along the way marked with the deliberate actions of concerned people, organizers, and activists.
Working people across the nation unite to demand, “Tax the rich!”
