In addition to being a celebration of summer, May 1st or May Day, is also known as Workers’ Day or International Workers’ Day. It’s a day to commemorate the historic struggles and gains of workers and labor unions, and to further advocate for the rights of workers today. In the United States, workers are officially recognized on the public holiday of Labor Day, in September.
Above, Minneapolis workers march the streets of Downtown Minneapolis in 1934and1937.
As anarchists, we think that human beings shouldn’t be defined by the surplus value they bring to capitalism. Work should be the way to produce by necessity and not to create new needs. Work must be organized so everyone can work less, and for means other than profitability.
On December 19, 2011 Occupy Los Angeles put a call out to the world. Simply put, on May 1st, 2012, shut the world down. Here in New York, we concur.
Occupy Wall Street will be standing in solidarity with our comrades in Occupy Portland, Occupy Seattle, Occupy Miami, Occupy Oakland, Occupy Chicago, Occupy Boston and other occupations on May 1st, 2012 in shutting capitalism down.
We will be supported by our brothers and sisters in the workers’ world, both unionized and non-unionized, in standing up for workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights, the right to food, shelter, healthcare and housing for all, women’s equality and social and economic justice.
No work ! No school ! No shopping ! No housework !
Worldwide, May 1st is traditionally a ‘Workers’ day – a day of Labor Solidarity, and a public holiday. It’s a day to celebrate and march in support of im/migrant rights. In protest against the corruption of the worldwide marketplace, which has led to illegal foreclosures, mass unemployment, low wages, high taxes and a penalization of all those who do not own the ‘99%’ of the world’s resources, and in solidarity with the im/migrant movements of May 1st, we decided to declare May 1st, 2012 a People’s General Strike. Instead of calling upon unionized Labor to make a specific demand (illegal under Taft-Hartley), we are calling upon the people of the world to take this day away from school and the workplace, so that their absence makes their displeasure with this corrupt system be known.
Worldwide, May 1st is traditionally a ‘Workers’ day – a day of Labor Solidarity, and a public holiday. It’s a day to celebrate and march in support of im/migrant rights. In protest against the corruption of the worldwide marketplace, which has led to illegal foreclosures, mass unemployment, low wages, high taxes and a penalization of all those who do not own the ‘99%’ of the world’s resources, and in solidarity with the im/migrant movements of May 1st, we decided to declare May 1st, 2012 a People’s General Strike. Instead of calling upon unionized Labor to make a specific demand (illegal under Taft-Hartley), we are calling upon the people of the world to take this day away from school and the workplace, so that their absence makes their displeasure with this corrupt system be known.
![HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANIELLE DARRIEUX! [05/01/1917 - 10/17/2017]Photo of Danielle Darriuex | 1930s](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f371ae186f1ee28cdacd949a1b1cc397/87d6ec3b670727d0-93/s1280x1920/878b14490ac646a825e05f89b8f2c3a1ad83caf4.jpg "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANIELLE DARRIEUX! [05/01/1917 - 10/17/2017]Photo of Danielle Darriuex | 1930s")
