***From The May Day 2012 Organizing Archives –May Day
2013 Needs The Same Efforts
BMDC International Workers Day Rally
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at Boston City Hall
Gather at 2PM - Rally at 2:30PM
(Court St. & Cambridge St.)
T stops Government Center (Blue line, Green line)
To download flyer click here. (Please print double-sided)
Other May Day events:
Revere - @ City Hall - gather at 3:pmbegin marching at 3:30 (to Chelsea)
Everett - @ City Hall - gather at 3:pm begin marching at 3:30 (to Chelsea)
Chelsea - @ City Hall - rally a 3:pm (wait for above feeder marches to arrive) will begin marching at 4:30 (to East Boston)
East Boston - @ Central Square - (welcome marchers) Rally at 5:pm
BMDC will join the rally in East Boston immediately following Boston City Hall rally
Supporters: ANSWER Coalition, Boston Anti Authoritarian Movement, Boston Rosa Parks Human Rights Day Committee, Greater Boston Stop the Wars Coalition, Harvard No-Layoffs Campaign, Industrial Workers of the World, Latinos for Social Change, Mass Global Action, Sacco & Vanzetti Commemoration Society, Socialist Alternative, Socialist Party of Boston, Socialist Workers Party, Student Labor Action Movement, USW Local 8751 - Boston School Bus Drivers Union, Worcester Immigrant Coalition, National Immigrant Solidarity Network, Democracy Center - Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridge/Somerville/Arlington United for Justice with Peace, International Socialist Organization, Community Church of Boston
*******
Collective statement of
Occupy May 1st, an organizing group calling for
a campaign to build for an
international general strike and mass day of
action!
Last fall there were a wave
of repressive attacks on, and evictions of,
various Occupy camp sites
throughout the country including where the movement
started in Zucotti (Liberty)
Park. But even before the evictions and
repression escalated,
questions were being asked: what is the way forward for the movement? And the
ubiquitous what do we want. We now have glimpses of organizing and action that
are leading the way and shining a light for the rest of us to follow: the
Oakland General Strike on November 2nd , the West Coast Port
Shutdown actions of December 12th , Occupy Foreclosures, and other
actions most recently support for the struggles of the hard-pressed
longshoremen in Longview, Washington. These actions show that, fundamentally,
all of the strategic questions revolve around the question of power. The power
, put simply, of the 99% vs. the power of the 1%
Although the 99% holds
enormous power -all wealth is generated, and the
current society is built and
maintained through, the collective labor
(paid and unpaid) of the
99%-, we do not frequently exercise this
collective power in our own
interests. Too often, abetted and egged on by the 1% , we fruitlessly fight
among ourselves over racism, patriarchy, xenophobia, occupational elitism,
geographical prejudice, heterosexism, and other forms of division, oppression
and prejudice.
This debilitating phenomena
is necessary, along with its control of politics, the courts, the prisons, the
cops and the military for the 1% to
maintain control because their power is only
exercised by different
segments of the 99% actively oppressing and
working against other
segments of the 99%, in addition to us neither being fully
>> aware of, nor
organizing to utilize, the collective power we have. The
>> result is that many
segments of the the 99%- people of color, women,
>> GLBTQ, immigrants,
those with less formal educational credentials, those
>> in less socially
respected occupations or unemployed, the homeless, and
>> others- deal with
overlapping forms of oppression and societal
>> prejudice; all of us
remain divided amongst each other; and the 1% continues to
>> increase their power
and wealth because of this.
>>
>> Currently, the state
of the economy has hit all of us (some facing
>> overlapping
prejudice and oppression, harder than others). There are too
>> many people out of
work; our pay has barely or hasn’t kept up with
>> rising costs; our
social services have continued to be cut; our influence on
>> government has
eroded; and our civil liberties have been attacked. This
>> has been going on
while the elites of this country have captured an
>> increasing share of
wealth; have had the highest decreases in the amount
>> of taxes they pay;
have attacked our social services and organizations
>> of popular defense
(such as our unions and community organizations); and
>> have consolidated to
an even greater degree their power over politics. The
>> Business Insider-
ironically- provides one of the more useful series of
>> charts that root the
Occupy movement’s concerns in the sobering
>> historical fact that
we experience.[i]
>>
>> The way forward must
involve building and showing our popular power
>> against that of the
elite. But the form of our power must be different
>> from theirs: we must
fight fire with water. Where they exercise
>> hierarchical power
over us to dominate, control, exploit and oppress; we
>> must build and
exercise horizontal, bottom-up power with each other to
>> cooperate, liberate
and collectively empower each other. We need to
>> organize ourselves
autonomously from all forms of hierarchical power
>> relations in our
communities, schools and workplaces to fight
>> collectively for our
interests. This must include a rejection of attempts to divide
>> and rule us; a
rejection of racism, patriarchy, xenophobia, elitism and
>> other forms of
oppression; a rejection of attempts by electoral parties,
>> powerful special
interest groups and others to co-opt and control our
>> movement.
>>
>> The camp occupations
built the movement and brought global attention to
>> the variety of
concerns of the 99%. They inspired many; provided a sense
>> of hope and
solidarity; brought economic justice and the problems of
>> power inequality
back into spotlight of national conversation; highlighted the
>> need for cultures,
societies and institutions of direct democracy based
>> on "power
with"- not "power over"- each other; served as a spaces of
>> convergence for
sharing ideas and planning action; and in some camps,
>> they even provided a
temporary space for those who needed a home and a
>> community where
folks could face less harassment than they normally
>> faced. The camp
occupations have served a fundamental role in the movement; but
>> it’s time to move
beyond them.
>>
>> We need to develop
the movement beyond the camp because the majority of
>> the 99% can’t camp
out in a city center. The majority of the 99% have
>> obligations and
vulnerabilities that prevent them from such
>> time-consuming,
geographically-specific action including: work, school,
>> responsibilities in
caring for children or other dependents, particular
>> health needs, etc.
So in order for us to truly exercise our power as the
>> 99% and to truly be
participatory, we need to find ways where all of us
>> can participate, and
be valued, in whatever capacity and with whatever
>> time we have to
contribute. We need our action to be as participatory,
>> diverse and
widespread as possible. We must boldly show and build our
>> collective power.
>>
>> Show Power
>>
To show our power, on May
1st, 2012, we will be organizing for such a
>> mass participatory
and bold collective action: a national general strike,
>> mass boycott,
student strike/ walk-out and mass day of action. We will be
>> organizing within
our unions- or informal workplace organizations where
>> there’s no union or
the union isn’t supportive- to hold a one-day
>> general strike.
Where a strike is not possible, we will be organizing people to
>> call in sick, or
take a personal day, as part of a coordinated
>> “sick-out”.
>>
Those who are students will be
walking-out of their schools (or not
showing up in the first
place). In the community, we will be holding a
mass boycott and refusing to
make any purchase on that day.
This action will necessarily
be a symbolic show of power because any
decrease in economic activity
that day will likely be compensated for by
purchases and extra work
activity the days before and after May 1st. But
it will be symbolic in the
way a cannon shot across the bow of a ship is
symbolic: it doesn’t do any
damage; but it warns our opponent that we
are willing and able to
damage their boat if necessary. And perhaps just as
important as the day itself,
the massive organizing and outreach efforts
in the months leading up to
May 1st will allow us the opportunity to
talk to our co-workers,
families, neighbors, communities, and friends about
the issues of the 99%, the
source of our power, the need for us to stand up
to the attacks we are facing,
the need to confront the various oppressions
that keep most of us down in
one way or another (some of especially so)
and all of us divided, and
the need for us to stand in solidarity with
each other to fight for our
collective interests, which is structurally,
and therefore inherently,
against the interests of the 1%. We can build
our collective consciousness,
capacity, and confidence through this
process; and come out
stronger because of it.
>>
>> Build Power
In addition to showing our
power on May 1st, we need to build bases of
popular, bottom-up,
collective, anti-oppressive and anti-hierarchical
power in our workplaces,
communities, and schools. So we will be doing a
variety of workshops,
building a variety of organizing campaigns, and
engaging a variety of actions
on the local level to contribute to the
building of such collective
power. Some of the workshops, campaigns and
actions that we will develop
and engage in include: organizing new
unions, becoming more active
in participatory unions; making our hierarchical
unions more participatory;
occupying foreclosures; building tenant
unions; blocking evictions;
preventing foreclosures; and creating solidarity
networks, to name a few. We
will not be co-opted by electoral parties,
or hierarchical organizations
looking to use the movement to serve their
interest while diffusing our
power. Instead we will organize, educate,
and agitate where we are at
to build power with each other and to fight
directly for our interests:
the interests of popular power against the
interests of elite power. All
of us must contribute for this effort to
be effective; but, to the
greatest degree possible, those contributions
must be collective in nature because our true
power is in our solidarity with
each other.
>>
Through this effort we are
looking to offer real solutions to addressing
issues of immediate concern
where each of us is at, through direct
collective action from the
bottom-up. The goal is to continue the
ongoing shift currently
happening within the movement from just mobilizing, to
organizing (or to move from
mobilization, to massification[ii]).
Mobilizing is necessary, but
it is not enough. We can’t just call people
out to engage in action. We
need to build the networks, organizations
and campaigns that provide
the opportunities for an ever greater number of
people to participate in the
decision-making process and functioning of
the autonomous popular
organizations we are creating. Our movement is
leaderless, which also means
that we all must be leaders. But the
leadership we build is again,
with, not over, others. We need to all
truly listen to and support
each other in developing our consciousness,
capacities and confidence. We
need to see the fights against the various
oppressions which keep folks
down and divide the 99% against itself, as
central to, not distractions
from, the effectiveness of our struggle. We
must discourage and isolate
egotistical, self-serving and movement-killing
tendencies we encounter while
encouraging and developing collective,
liberatory and
movement-building tendencies. Our participatory,
bottom-up networks,
organizations and campaigns will be the way through which we
build our power and make
small gains in the medium term. But they will
also serve as the basis for a
new world that we are building toward.
>>
This new world in our hearts
that we are building and showing, within
the shell of the old one that
we are confronting, is one in which people
share power with, not over,
each other. It's where workers themselves
democratically control their
workplaces; where everyone can find
meaningful, socially-useful
and balanced work that is carried out in
comfortable conditions. It's
where those who aren't able to work (or who
have put in their share of
their lifetime) are taken care of by society;
where we abolish rulers over
us and instead societies directly decide
for themselves how to live, develop
and grow. It's where our environments
are healthy, beautiful and
sustainable; where we all have the educational
and social opportunities to
develop and contribute our full capacities to
our families and societies.
It's where people can live in nice homes and
safe communities, get their
health needs fully taken care of, eat healthy and
well, and not have to worry
about meeting their needs or the needs of
their families; where we can
all have time and resources to enjoy life;
and where the global human
society is driven not by competition,
oppression, exploitation,
domination and war; but by love, freedom and
solidarity. We, the 99%, will
build our power and show our power until
we've occupied our
workplaces, our communities, our schools, our lives,
our world... until we've
occupied everything!
>>
>> [i]
>>
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1
>> [ii]
http://libcom.org/library/mobilisation-massification
>>
>>
>
>
> "Existence precedes
and commands essence." (Sartre)
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