My first May Day: ‘I was in the right place’
This past Saturday I marched in my first May Day parade, arriving to shouts of “rain or shine baby, rain or shine!” It was incredible to move down Flatbush Avenue as a unit in our red ponchos shouting “who are we? PLP!” I joined the Progressive Labor Party this past August, after seven years of working alongside and learning from Party members in countless struggles with the NYC Department of Education. Throughout those struggles we got some wins, but I came to realize, first, that under capitalism our wins could only be temporary, and second, that the working class was fully capable of running things themselves. Listening to the Kingsborough students describe their fight back against their racist administration reinforced my belief that I was in the right place. Today I read a quote from a worker who was protesting the tragic murder of Jordan Neely in the NYC subway–a predictable tragedy under a system that casts people struggling with mental illness to the streets to fend for themselves. When asked why he was protesting the worker responded “I kind of felt hopeless. I just wanted to be in community with other people and not feel so helpless.” For me, the community that can make the change we need is PLP.
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Rutger striker: ‘incredibly powerful’
This was my first May Day celebration! Despite the inclement weather, the spirits were high and I loved getting to meet a legion of new comrades. After a long and tough year, it felt great to celebrate the wins and remember those we have lost. This year was full of firsts for me, my first year working “full-time” as a “part-time” worker, my first strike, and my first full-time union job offer (with real benefits)!
Worker power is stronger than ever, and the number of unions, strikes, and community organizing keeps growing across the United States. Taking a moment to remember that we are all in this fight together is
what May Day is all about.
Even in the rain, the feeling of solidarity was pulsing through the crowd. It was incredibly powerful to hear from fellow workers fighting for justice and equality throughout the country and the world. Our experiences of oppression and injustice in a global capitalist system may be different, but our chains are linked, and we can only lift the hammer of revolution to free ourselves through solidarity.
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