Did you know that May 1st – or ‘May Day’ – is recognized as International Workers’ Day – and has been since the 1890s? The commemoration of this day honours the ongoing struggle for workers’ rights.
On May 4, 1886, thousands of workers and their families (many immigrants from Eastern Europe) marched through the streets of Chicago to demonstrate for an eight-hour work day. This moment “was not just about workers’ rights. It was a moment of great empowerment for immigrant workers, who were denied the right to vote on the basis of citizenship status… The gathering at Haymarket Square remained peaceful until police arrived demanding the crowd disperse. A bomb explosion led the police to fire on the crowd, killing four unarmed demonstrators… The legacy of Haymarket is one of intense state repression targeted specifically at immigrants in an attempt to break labour organizing. In the immediate aftermath of the Haymarket Massacre, anti-immigrant hysteria was rampant in newspapers. People’s homes were searched without warrants, many were rounded up and eventually eight organizers were indicted — seven of them immigrants — although there was no evidence of their involvement… In 1890, in commemoration of this moment, May 1st was declared International Workers’ Day” (from Rabble.ca).
In many countries, May 1st is a public holiday. In Canada, however, the official holiday for workers is Labour Day in September (typically the first Monday of the month). However, many Canadian workers still organize public demonstrations and marches on May 1st in solidarity with the working class across the globe. Many of these activities are organized by unions. (In fact, many groups will use May 1st as an opportunity to revive the Occupy movement, which Abdi wrote about back in October 2011).
So what is a union? “A union is an organized group of workers who come together to make decisions about the conditions of their work. Through union membership, workers can impact wages, work hours, benefits, workplace health and safety, and other work-related issues” (from YoungWorkers.org).
Similarly, student unions at colleges and universities organize students and represent their interests at their institutions, and advocate on behalf of students to local, provincial, and national governments on post-secondary issues, such as tuition fees and student financial aid.
Recently, students in Quebec have come together to protest tuition fee increases in the province – and their actions have received a lot of media attention across the country. At York University, students represented by the York Federation of Students are members of the Canadian Federation of Students union.
At the recent York University Faculty Association conference – “Pushing Forward: Community Engagement as Social Action” – York Federation of Students President Vanessa Hunt presented on the racialized impact of tuition fees. Although post-secondary education “has long been considered to be the great social equaliser, capable of opening up new pathways to higher income earnings and social mobility for underprivileged members of society… Canada’s deep income divide along the lines of race and ethnicity tells a different story in which opportunity is apportioned based on wealth and privilege… opportunities available through accessing post-secondary education are undermined by the current trend of skyrocketing tuition fees at Ontario’s schools and ballooning student debt” (from the Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario paper The Racialised Impact of Tuition Fees: Assessing the Social Cost of Post-Secondary Education).
Have you been involved in a workers’ union or students’ union? Have you come together to advocate on behalf of your own interests or the interests of others? Take some time to reflect on the power of collective action and on the issues of concern to you as workers and students.