May Day: Reflecting on The Great American Boycott of 2006
Tens of thousands are expected to march today for immigration reform in cities across the United States. The biggest march is expected in Los Angeles. Last year the protests were marred by heavy police force despite the peaceful nature of marches which each year are comprised of families, children, music, and vendors.
I was in Los Angeles on May Day 2006, appropriately donned The Great American Boycott of 2006. I am not in Los Angeles this year but I hope readers in Los Angeles will blog about the day here on The WIP.
Below I copied an entry from my journal from the day of The Great American Boycott in 2006:
My sister and I took to the streets of Los Angeles to document history today. We walked miles, pedaled boulevards, marched routes and sang songs of protest in solidarity with all immigrants that came out to march. Despite the lower figures reported in the LA Times, I am certain there were at least a million people on the streets.
CNN Anchors like Jack Cafferty and Lou Dobbs would like us to believe that the march was meaningless—thousands of contemptible illegal human beings wanting more than they deserve. I am a citizen and so is the housekeeper with whom I spent the morning marching down Broadway. I met others who are not citizens, but whose children are fighting in the United States Military in Iraq. I heard stories of students who came to this country as infants and whose temporary residence status will expire when they graduate from high school this spring. Children without Social Security do not qualify for student aid and must make the decision between staying here in the United States and skipping college, or going back to study in their countries of origin at the expense of possibly never seeing their families again. I saw Teamsters and police officers, politicians and teachers, DJ’s and singers, religious figures and entire families, marching for a human solution to the complex problem of undocumented workers in the United States. Everyone carried flags – red for courage, white for purity, and blue for justice.
Size matters. The simultaneous work stoppages on Monday brought our two ports, Long Beach and Los Angeles, to a near standstill. Our Central Valley fields were emptied of farmworkers. There was an unprecedented unity among employers and employees, including growers who demonstrated their solidarity with idle tractors and farm equipment left alongside Highway 101 in silent protest. The farmworkers on Monday created the largest agricultural work stoppage on record in California, even greater than the Grape Strike of 1973.
At the end of the day, after Mayor Villaraigosa and Dolores Huerta, after the sun had begun its western descent below the horizon, after “If I Had a Hammer” and several prayers, when we began to notice the distance we had walked in our calves and thighs, my sister and I packed our cameras and backpacks and got on our bicycles and headed home down an empty and quiet Wilshire Boulevard.
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Comments (2)
Thank you for your thoughtful reflections. From Amy Goodman's guests on Democracy Now this morning, it appears today's protests and boycotts will be large. I wonder, if the dockworkers manage to close all California ports, will this be significant enough for our leaders and corporate media to listen to what US citizens are saying?
Posted by Elisa | May 1, 2008 6:33 PM
Kate:
Thank you for sharing your experience of May Day 2006. As Elisa says, Goodman's guests predicted more actions for this year. Here is a link to information about that which I found interesting:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/5/1/may_day_tens_of_thousands_prepare
An activist friend of mine on the West Coast sent news of actions in Seattle. Here is a report from the New York Times about International Longshore and Warehouse Union's strike against the war and other issues that affect Americans today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/us/02port.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
That union is showing us what democracy looks like. May we have lots more of it.
I was distressed to see that New York City, where I live, told the truckers who rallied in Washington, DC, earlier this week that there would be blockades if they tried a rally here. The truckers had planned to rally in support of the dock workers on the West Coast. I do not blame those drivers who would be willing to rally here, in the Capitol of the World as we like to say, but were not willing to risk damage to their vehicles. They decided to go somewhere else instead. I sent a protest of that decision to Bloomberg, who was in charge of the egregious treatment of demonstrators during the 2004 Republican Convention here and pens us who protest out of sight and hearing whenever there is protest.
If more Americans go on strike even if the employers say it is not okay (when have they ever wanted workers to strike?), things will change in this country. Since Reagan began the attacks on labor, many unions and workers have been afraid. Now, with the evident erosion of our economy that has resulted from policies that have favored the very rich and the financial markets while allowing the middle class to stagnate and the poor to grow poorer, more workers seem to have less to fear. I feel a little encouraged.
Posted by Nancy Vining Van Ness | May 2, 2008 6:36 AM