New York, NY – On May 1, hundreds of people in New York City celebrated on International Workers’ Day. The day was kicked off in Harlem, where a rally for the laundry workers was held as they demanded better working conditions. The day continued at a Trump Tower on Wall Street. Hundreds gathered near the Stock Exchange under the banner “No walls in the workers struggle.”

Saint Paul, MN – Hundreds of immigrants, union members and activists marched to the Minnesota State Capitol on May 1, International Workers Day. They demanded that the state legislature pass a bill to give immigrants access to drivers licenses, without adding amendments to further criminalize immigrants. They also raised other demands for immigrant and workers’ rights while commemorating the workers who lost their lives in 1886 in the struggle for an eight-hour workday.

Caracas, Venezuela – On May 1, May Day, in the heart of downtown, 400,000 workers poured into the streets for two reasons: to honor their day, International Workers Day; and to celebrate the defeat of the coup attempt against their elected president Nicolas Maduro.

Milwaukee, WI – The Young Workers Committee of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council welcomed Raymond “Mong” Palatino from Bayan, an alliance of progressive organizations in the Philippines, and Ed Cubelo from the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) or May First Labor Movement, to Milwaukee for a very successful International Workers' Day event at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council on April 30.

Chicago IL – Ed Cubelo – the president of Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation Workers Association and chairman of the Metro Manila chapter of the major trade union federation in the Philippines, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) or 'May First Labor Movement' – visited the grave of the Haymarket martyrs, May 1.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following April 30 statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).

Los Angeles, CA – Boyle Heights families, workers and students will march on May 1, International Worker’s Day, to protest Trump’s anti-immigrant attacks and demand no wall on the Mexico border and no deportations. The May Day rally and march will start at 4:30 at the corner of Chavez and Mathews streets; and end at Mariachi Plaza for a rally.

May 1, International Workers Day, is a celebration of the heroic struggle for a better world waged by workers and oppressed people around the world. Monopoly capitalism is the system we fight against. This system is everywhere, from our low wages and the lack of affordable health care, to racist and bigoted laws, to the neverending war and oppression felt around the globe.

Dallas, TX – About 50 people gathered in Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff, Dallas to celebrate International Workers Day. The theme of the celebration was the resurgence of the strike in labor organizing, and recent victories for workers, such as the teachers' strikes.

Chicago, IL – Freedom Road Socialist Organization will host a major celebration of International Workers Day, on May 2, 6 p.m. at the UE Hall, 37 S. Ashland.

Boston, MA – Workers and students packed into the office of Boston’s Chinese Progressive Association on April 27 to hear labor activists from the Philippines speak about the state of working-class struggle in their country. The event, sponsored by the Boston chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), featured speakers Raymond “Mong” Palatino and Ed Cubello.

Solidarity with the KMU

Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 trade unionists gathered at the United Labor Centre here, April 25, to hear Ed Cubelo, the president of Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation Workers Association and chairman of the Metro Manila chapter of the major trade union federation in the Philippines – Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) or 'May First Labor Movement.' Also speaking was Raymond “Mong” Palatino, the chairperson of the metro Manila chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-BAYAN, a progressive alliance of people’s organizations.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following April 25 statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).

Chicago, IL – Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members at as many as ten more charter schools could be on the picket lines on May 1 – May Day – in what would be the third CTU strike against charter operators this school year.

Deer Park, TX – On April 22, the United Steelworkers (USW) condemned Rohm and Haas Texas Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company, after the company made the decision to lock out more than 200 workers at its plant in Deer Park, Texas.

Tampa, FL – El United Parcel Service (UPS) sacó a la luz sus ganancias del cuarto trimestre el mes pasado, sobrepasando las expectativas de Wall Street con casi $5 mil millones en ganancias en el 2018. Con una combinación de abrir nuevas instalaciones de clasificación automatizadas, la compra de nuevos aviones de carga, y la explotación de los empleados por medio de salarios bajos y largas jornadas de trabajo, UPS tuvo una temporada navidena muy lucrativa. La compañía es optimista sobre el tema de sus ganancias en el 2019 y en el futuro. Para los trabajadores, sin embargo, el futuro no se ve tan luminoso.

New York, NY – Picket lines graced the sidewalks in front of Brooklyn and Staten Island courthouses this week, as the legal aid attorneys and staff of CAMBA Legal Services (CLS) launched an indefinite strike. The workers at CLS won their union in May of 2018, as part of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys – UAW 2325 (ALAA), and have been in contract negotiations with management ever since.

New York, NY – Forty activists gathered on Friday, April 12, at The People’s Forum in New York City for an event on the Philippines labor movement hosted by BAYAN USA and Mission to End Modern Day Slavery. The program, titled, “Breaking the Chains: A Sharing on the Philippines Labor Movement,” featured presentations by Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement) Vice Chair Ed Cubelo, and BAYAN Metro Manila Chair Mong Palatino.

Madison, WI – On April 5, graduate workers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison occupied Bascom Hall for three hours, organized by the Teaching Assistants Association (TAA). The primary demands were that segregated fees be waived for graduate workers, that the international student fee also be waived, and that the university respect the collective bargaining process. Over 400 graduate workers and supporters, including undergraduates, the faculty and staff union, and community members, turned out in the TAA’s largest action in roughly a decade.