https://socialistaction.org/2017/05/06/chicago-workers-take-to-the-streets-on-may-day/
Chicago workers take to the streets on May Day
/ 3 days ago
May 2017 Chicago marchBy MARK UGOLINI
— CHICAGO — Nearly 10,000 workers, immigration rights activists, and
supporters took to the streets on May Day to demand legalization of
undocumented workers; an end to terrorizing immigrant communities with
raids on homes and workplaces; and an end to criminalization, mass
incarceration, and deportations. (See a full list of demands at the link
below.)
The primarily Hispanic crowd staged a “Rally for Immigration Justice” in
Union Park on the city’s West side and then marched East to Chicago’s
Daley plaza and heard speakers including Tefere Gebre, executive vice
president of the AFL-CIO; Karen Lewis, Chicago Teachers Union president;
and others.
Chicago May Day http://chimayday.com/# was sponsored by over 120 Chicago
organizations. Among the more prominent were an array of immigration
rights groups including Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee
Rights, Mijente, and Arise Chicago. Black rights groups including NAACP
Chicago Southside, Black Youth Project 100, and Black Lives Matter were
also prominent builders of the protests.
The May Day call was endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor, and
drew the active support and participation of dozens of labor
organizations and trade unions including: Fight for $15, International
Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Service Employee International Union
(SEIU), Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), United
Electrical Workers-Western Region (UE), United Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW), the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), National Nurses United
(NNU), and American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME).
Several SEIU union locals and the CTU played prominent roles in
providing logistics and marshalling for the event. Hundreds came from
surrounding areas, especially DuPage County, where Immigrant Solidarity
DuPage organized six busloads of immigrant workers to participate in
Chicago’s day of activities.
Despite intermittent rain showers, the three-mile march down Washington
St. was militant and spirited. Singing, chanting, and calls for
solidarity boomed from loudspeakers as bystanders along the march route
joined in. “Si se puede!” was a frequent rallying cry. Hundreds of
demonstrators carried colorful flags and signs, some with handmade
slogans. “Bridges not Walls,” “I believe we will Win!” and “We can’t
survive on $8.25!” were among the popular chants.
One of the marchers was eager to speak with reporters. Her parents were
without papers when they brought her to the U.S. as a young girl. “I’m a
DREAMER myself! And I’m going to college. Today, May 1st, is college
decision day, and [we are here] just fighting to keep the programs like
DACA alive.”
Earlier in the day protesters rallied in the Pilsen neighborhood’s
Tenochtitlan Plaza. One of the city’s historic, predominantly Hispanic
communities, Pilsen residents have been frequent targets of ICE raids
and harassment. Homemade signs and chants included: “No ban. No Wall”
and “Trump, Obama are the same. The only difference is the name.”
One participant, Rebecca Vosler, a 25-year old Pilsen teacher, told
reporters: “How can Chicago claim that they’re a sanctuary city when
immigrants aren’t being protected and then on top of that, how are you
protecting workers when the rent is rising, when the wages are low?”
A 42-year-old Pilsen restaurant worker, Israel Gascón, said he was
protesting on May Day to take a stand for the working class, pointing
out: “There is a war against the workers [and] against immigrants. … I
see my community terrorized by ICE, by this criminalization of
particularly the Mexican community.” Some businesses in Pilsen were
closed in honor of the international workers holiday, and to protest
attacks on the immigrant community.
Earlier in the day, other groups congregated outside the Cook County
Juvenile Detention Center to protest police violence, harassment and the
wave of arrests of Black and Latino youth. After some speeches, the
group marched to join the main “Rally for Immigration Justice” at Union
Park.
At Mather High School in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood, dozens of
teachers gathered to raise their demand for increased public school
funding and demonstrate solidarity with immigration rights.
“It’s a day, historically, that the working class in the U.S., which is
an immigrant working class, has fought for the eight-hour day,
originally, but now for services that will support the future in the
neighborhoods, in the schools,” said Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Vice
President Jesse Sharkey. “We’ve seen our schools under a real threat and
attack, and we hope that people come out and show solidarity and fight
for a future we can believe in.”
In a video May Day Message to CTU members, Sharkey urged support for
other victims of the state’s manufactured “budget crisis.” He called for
solidarity with students and staff of public universities, especially
predominately Black Chicago State University, which has been
systematically dismantling by massive budget cuts over the last two years.
Sharkey pledged continued solidarity with state workers who are without
a contract and under a union-busting assault from Illinois Gov. Bruce
Rauner. He also promoted the struggle of over 10,000 nursing-care
workers fighting for a fair contract who are planning a strike later
this month.
Previously, the CTU leadership considered a one-day strike on May Day to
fight school budget cutbacks and solidarize with immigration rights, but
ultimately decided against a strike. Many teachers, they said, were
unwilling to give up additional paid teaching days. Instead, the
teachers were encouraged to use personal days to attend the May Day
protests, and many CTU members did so.
While the Chicago May Day protests were an important expression of
solidarity, which brought together a wide array of forces, like others
around the country, they were smaller than expected. This may indicate
Trump’s xenophobia and virulent racism are having a chilling effect on
the immigrant community, heightening fear, and ushering increasing
numbers of undocumented workers into the shadows.
Exposed now, more than ever, is the weak-kneed response of the Chicago
labor movement, which is institutionally fused to the capitalist
Democratic Party and the local machine of Rahm Emanuel. The so-called
“progressive” labor leaders in this city are a dime a dozen, reined in
by their political bosses whose job is to protect the interests of local
billionaires like Ken Griffin (the richest man in Illinois) and his
friends, their big corporations, their tax-advantaged hedge funds, and
their tax-free off-shore accounts.
While they posture as defenders of the most oppressed workers, they have
been totally unwilling to break ties with the Democrats either in the
streets or in the political arena. Rather than token endorsements,
resolutions, and flowery-sounding speeches, what’s necessary is a truly
massive and powerful display of unity in action.
Undocumented immigrants and other oppressed workers will be further
emboldened to take action when a powerful, militant, and combative ally
appears on the scene—one that brings the full power of a united Chicago
union movement to bear. Chicago’s labor history books are full of
examples of heroic labor battles that are both a source for study and a
guide to action.
Photo: Aerial shot of May 1 march in Chicago. ABC-TV 7 News
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May 6, 2017 in Labor, Immigration, Chicago.
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