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Until last year, May Day for workers, progressives and revolutionaries in the US found us looking at struggles in the global South for inspiration and affirmation that the oppressed will resist, and can win against, the ravages of capitalist exploitation. Last year, for the first time since the capitalists stole "International Workers Day" and replaced it with barbecues in September, a section of the class -- Latino/a immigrants -- reclaimed May 1st and began a new phase in the workers' struggle for economic and political democracy. May 2006 saw massive school blowouts and stay-aways from work. In some cases whole industries came to a halt. Thought it was only for a day, these actions showed the tremendous power of Latino/a workers.
The politically astute and revanchist Bush regime could see the writing on the wall: a powerful movement was developing. Segments of this movement were tipping the balance of electoral power against Republicans and this mass 'rebellion' was setting an example for millions of others of working and oppressed peoples. Freedom is contagious! The response has been clear and brutal: workplace raids, police attacks on immigrants, efforts to isolate the movement by criminalizing and profiling immigrants as gangsters and terrorists, and political efforts to delay and deny democratic rights to immigrants.
The Immigrants' Rights movement is both a movement for workers' rights and a movement for democratic rights. In huge swathes of the country it is also a struggle for national rights (or at least the rights of Mexican nationals to their historic lands). When you look past the issues of documentation, type of visa, length of stay, border security and path to citizenship, what we have is millions of workers seeking sustainable work in another country and joining the ranks of working men and women of that country. They are no different than the 200 million other workers worldwide who have to work outside of their home countries. Seen in this context, what they struggle for, and what we must support, are rights that protect them from arbitrary firings, low wages, unsafe working conditions and coercion from employers because of their status. Linked with this struggle are struggles for basic democratic rights -- to live without fear, to be allowed to participate in government "by the people," to be able to drive a car with a license, to freely assemble, or even to talk in one's native language.
On May 1st we must redouble our efforts and fight for both workers rights and democratic rights for all. We review this struggle as nothing less than a third Reconstruction! The first Reconstruction was the struggle by freed Black women and men to claim economic, democratic and human rights in the post–Civil War era. This Black-led struggle led to many advances from which all working people benefit today (such as public schools, to cite one example). Ultimately the first Reconstruction was met by white supremacist violence and repression. The Black Liberation movement of the '50s to '70s was a second wave of Black-led struggle for an inclusive and consistent political, social and economic democracy. The last 30 years have seen unremitting attacks against the gains of the Second Reconstruction as well as the imposition of a global economic model -- neo-liberalism.
The US economy has been restructured, working people have been battered, and the new global economy has forced tens of millions of people to migrate to the United States. As revolutionaries we must view this moment as an opportunity to create a third Reconstruction! By that we mean our principal task is to build the unity of immigrant workers with African-American workers who are struggling to maintain hard-won gains in the workplace and the broader society.
Our internationalist defense of immigrant workers should not, however, confuse anyone about how we see the role of the US in their home countries or the role that immigration plays in maintaining social peace for the elites in the countries that provide this desperate and vulnerable workforce. Unequal trade agreements, International Monetary Fund pressures and WTO regulations have destroyed local economies, resulting in national turmoil. The contested elections in Mexico and the strike and resistance in Oaxaca are examples of many more things to come across the entire region unless drastic changes are undertaken.
The goal of our movement is not to have Honduran workers become low-wage workers in the US or for Mexican workers to become US citizens. We don't oppose these things as the outcome of the current state of affairs but our vision is for countries of the global South to flourish and build sustainable economies free of US imperialist control and influence. The hundreds of billions of dollars in remittances sent from the US to other countries are not a form of sustainable economic development but a temporary barrier to social upheaval. We know that upheaval has the potential to bring more democratic and equitable societies. This is the change the immigrants really want.
As May Day celebrations and protests take place, the US Congress is considering some new but mostly rehashed legislation. Immigrant workers, along with their organizations and advocates, will have to decide what legislation will serve both their long-term and short-term needs. All agree that the brutal ICE raids on workplaces and communities must cease immediately. Likewise, the trend of local law enforcement agencies' enforcing immigration policy has to be stopped.
We urge all to support this third Reconstruction! A struggle, led by workers, to deepen and broaden democracy and to win workers rights is clearly a struggle with the potential to fundamentally change this society. Our job is to build the united front -- build the mutual understanding and joint practice needed to create a people's front -- one that builds on and globalizes the historic African-American demands for economic, social and political democracy. Stay vocal. Stay energized. Stay angry. ¡Hasta la victoria siempre!
Long Live the Immigrant Workers' Uprising of 2006!
Solidarity among African-American and Latino Workers!
Forward to the US Social Forum in Atlanta!
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