[Marxism] May Day in America: Marking the Continuing Struggle Against Injustice

[Walter Lippmann]

("These expressions and demands take place as a US presidential
campaign is underway; one in which candidates Hillary Clinton, John
McCain, and Barack Obama each favor maintaining second-class status
for undocumented workers. They all support tougher borders, and -as
senators- each voted to fund the wall along the Mexican border.")
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May Day in America: Marking the Continuing Struggle Against Injustice
By Luis Chirino 

http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/ 

As Cubans celebrated May Day -with huge marches in support of their
socialist revolution, as joy and hope reigned in every heart of this
people that has been the victims of a long-standing policy of
hostility imposed against them by the United States- American
residents simultaneously witnessed huge demonstrations demanding
rights for immigrants, who are the domestic victims of US policy.

For Americans, this year's May Day marks the third one in a row of
mass protests demanding immigrant rights. Tens of thousands of US
citizens are to demonstrate today in support of legal status for
undocumented migrant workers and against raids and deportations,
which have torn families apart, as media outlets report across the
U.S.

One of the biggest rallies was scheduled to take place in Los
Angeles, California, where over a million people took to the streets
two years ago to participate in the "Great American Boycott."

Last year, demonstrations calling for comprehensive immigration
reform were marred by violent clashes with the Los Angeles Police
Department, which claimed that it had prepared restraint tactics that
included an electronic device that flashed crowd-control warnings in
English, Spanish, Mandarin and Korean.

An editorial in the US paper The Militant calls on the working people
across the United States "to join hundreds of thousands nationwide in
taking off work on May 1 and join protest actions to demand the
immediate legalization of all undocumented workers, with no
conditions."

The call, which was made by Socialist Workers Party candidate for
U.S. president Roger Calero, featured phrases like "Legalization for
All," "Stop the raids and deportations," "End Social Security
no-match letters." These are three major demands at the center of the
concerns of workers in the most powerful country in the world, also
known as "The Melting Pot," despite the fact that such melting is not
complete or fair for all its residents.

In Seattle, the largest city in the northwestern United States,
hundreds -perhaps thousands- of supporters of immigrant rights were
expected to demonstrate, since Hispanics are the fastest growing
minority group in the entire state of Washington, according to local
media reports.

The march was scheduled to start in Seattle's Central District at
Judkins Park and end with a mass rally at the Seattle Center. The
main message to be conveyed by demonstrators was "America needs
immigrant labor."

"The U.S. ruling class -which profits from the super-exploitation of
a large section of the working class lacking legal documents- stepped
up its efforts to intimidate working people over the days leading up
to May Day," read the editorial posted in The Militant.

"The hated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency carried
out raids at workplaces in nine states on April 16. This was an
attempt to undermine the confidence our class has won in the streets
during the last two May Days and intimidate undocumented workers into
staying home this year," the editorial protested, stressing the need
to set up an independent labor party that can fight for the broad
interests of the working class.

These expressions and demands take place as a US presidential
campaign is underway; one in which candidates Hillary Clinton, John
McCain, and Barack Obama each favor maintaining second-class status
for undocumented workers. They all support tougher borders, and -as
senators- each voted to fund the wall along the Mexican border.

There are no more comments or citations necessary about May Day in
the United States, but we must just recall that amongst the Cuban
people -and amidst their enthusiasm and joy for the achievements over
the past 50 years- they have repeatedly expressed their solidarity
with the exploited people in the United States and those around the
world.

World news/lach


Cuban News Agency
www.cubanews.ain.cu
ainnews at ain.cu

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WALTER LIPPMANN, CubaNews
Los Angeles, California
http://www.walterlippmann.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
"Cuba - Un Paraiso bajo el bloqueo"
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