About Us

Wisconsin’s most historic and bloody labor incident occurred on May 5, 1886 on the shores of Lake Michigan in the Bay View area of Milwaukee. That day dawned after four days of massive worker demonstrations throughout Milwaukee on behalf of the creation of eight-hour day laws..

As some 1,500 workers marched toward the Bay View Rolling Mills (then the area’s biggest manufacturer) urging the workers thereto join the marches, the State Militia lined up on a hill, guns poised.  The marchers were ordered to stop form some 200 yards away; when they didn’t, the militiamen fired into the crowd, killing seven persons.

The marchers dispersed and the eight-hour days marches ended. The incident, in spite of its immediate end to eight-hour day efforts, spurred workers and their families to look forward to build a more progressive society in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

Each year, more than 200 persons gather, under the sponsorship of the Wisconsin Labor History Society, at the Bay View Rolling Mills historical marker site at S. Superior St. and E. Russell Ave. in Milwaukee to commemorate this incident. 

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137th Anniversary Commemoration Bay View Tragedy

Remembering the seven who died while marching

for the 8-hour day on May 5, 1886

Commemoration Date: 3 p.m ., Sunday, May 7th.

Location: Bay View Rolling Mill historical marker site at the corner of S. Superior St. and E. Russell Ave. in the Bay View neighborhood on Milwaukee’s lakefront.

Program

Raging Grannies Sing-Along

Re-enactment of 1886 Massacre, featuring larger-than-life-sized puppets, professional actors reading speeches

Music by Craig Siemsen, folksinger; Jahmes Finlayson, percussion

Remarks: Alan Chavoya, American Federation of Teachers Local 212

Wreath-laying / Readings of names of massacre victims

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Odessa Solidarity Campaign “Supporting the antifascist people of Ukraine since 2016” A project of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223 USA – https://odessasolidaritycampaign.org Ph: 1-804-644-5834 – Email: DefendersFJE@hotmail.com

Each year, the Odessa Solidarity Campaign has promoted actions on May 2 to mark the date in 2014 when a right-wing mob led by openly fascist organizations murdered at least 42 anti-fascists at the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, Ukraine. The Odessa Massacre took place just a few months after the violent coup that replaced a pro-Russian president with a pro-U.S. one. Not surprisingly, the U.S. was heavily involved in promoting the coup. Today Ukraine has an authoritarian government that openly collaborates with neo-Nazi organizations, incorporating them into its military and promoting the memory of Ukrainian fascists who shamefully collaborated with the World War II Nazi occupation of their country. The birthday of the notorious Nazi collaborator Stefan Bandera is now a national holiday. His image graces a national stamp. Major streets have been renamed in his honor and Bandera statues have replaced monuments to Soviet war heroes. For years, relatives of those who were murdered on May 2, 2014, regularly visited the site of the massacre and kept repeating their demand for an international investigation into the atrocity, something  the Ukrainian government has never allowed. Today it is impossible for them to come into the streets without risking arrest or physical attacks. The Odessa Solidarity Campaign was founded in 2016 to support the anti-fascist people of Odessa, and now Ukraine as a whole. That was the year we traveled to Odessa to stand with the Council of Mothers of May 2 as they defied threats of attack by the same fascist organizations that had murdered their daughters and sons.  Today, as the world is inundated with pro-U.S. and pro-NATO propaganda about the war in Ukraine, we believe it is more important than ever to keep alive the memory of the Odessa Massacre and the fact that not all Ukrainians support the current reactionary government and its pro-U.S./NATO stance.

We are asking that all freedom-loving people everywhere please post this message on your websites and social media sites along with the above graphic that was created by a young Ukrainian to promote the anti-fascist message. Please make the graphic your Facebook image for the day and share it on your Instagram, Tic-Toc and Twitter accounts.  And as for the war itself, we call on the U.S. and NATO, which are responsible for provoking this devastating confrontation, to stop sending arms to Ukraine and stop using the Ukrainian  people as cannon fodder in their proxy war against Russia.   Remember the Odessa Massacre! U.S. Out of Ukraine! NATO Out of Existence! If you or your organization post this message and/or graphic, please let us know: ODESSA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223 – USA Phone/Text: 1-804-644-5845 Email: DefendersFJE@hotmail.com Web: https://odessasolidaritycampaign.org

MORE FROM THE ODESSA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN: In Norfolk, Va., an antiwar message is raised at Norfolk’s annual NATO parade Odessa Solidarity Campaign statement on the U.S. government attack on the African People’s Socialist Party Statement on the Present Crisis in Ukraine

Venezuela & ALBA News #450, 4.28.2023: Forbes Mag Defends Alex Saab; Harry Belafonte; Colombia conference on Venezuela; Maduro a Neoliberal?

Political Prisoner Alex Saab
Forbes.com: What Leaders Need To Know About The Alex Saab Case And International Diplomatic Law “The fact that the U.S. does not recognize the Maduro government in Caracas is irrelevant. What matters is that both the sending state – Venezuela – and the receiving state – Iran – have recognized Saab as a special envoy. The U.S. is not entitled to interfere with the diplomatic activities of Iran and Venezuela. For the U.S. to interfere, as it is doing now by seeking to prosecute Alex Saab, violates international diplomatic law.”       

Harry Belafonte
NBC News (2006): Belafonte: Bush ‘greatest terrorist in the world’ Harry Belafonte in Venezuela. “No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we’re here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people … support your revolution,” Belafonte told Chavez during the broadcast. He accused US news media of falsely painting Chavez as a “dictator,” when in fact, he said, there is democracy and citizens are “optimistic about their future.” Dolores Huerta, a pioneer of the United Farm Workers labor union also in the delegation, called the visit a “very deep experience.”

Granma: Our friend Belafonte, on his 95th birthday Article in Cuba’s newspaper on Belafonte’s 95th birthday.

Venezuela
Nicolas Maduro, Has He Become a Neoliberal? If Maduro were a neoliberal, not only the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), but also the many state-owned enterprises such as the Caracas subway, electricity, telecommunications and water supply companies, to name a few, would already be in private hands. The current policies against corruption in the strategic spheres of the economy, the slow recovery of the productive apparatus – which is leading to better financing of the state through taxes on large companies, the reconstruction of public services deteriorated under the blockade, the transfer of non-US technology to circumvent the blockade, policies reinforced by the rebound in the price of oil and multipolar alliances, show the absurdity of the claim.

Just as the recent handing over by the Maduro government of 4,500,000 public houses to the popular sectors, the 13 million hectares handed over to small and medium-sized farmers as part of the agrarian reform (a program initiated by Hugo Chávez), the transfer of state powers, and economic and technical aid, to the popular self-governments (municipalities, communal councils, etc.), the maintenance of the state budget, and the creation of a new government, the maintenance of free higher education, the reconstruction of free public health care, and the massive anti-blockade food program carried out by the Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP). 

Sign the petition to demand that these budget cuts are not allowed to happen: z.umn.edu/StopTheCutsPetition 

On Thursday, April 20th, the CLA Council of Chairs at the University of Minnesota reached out to UMN Students for a Democratic Society in concern about massive budget cuts to ethnic studies and gender and women’s studies departments that the University intends to make. These budget cuts would not only considerably limit the content available to all students, cutting courses and programs, but would also seriously endanger the jobs and livelihoods of faculty in these departments, if not threaten the existence of the departments as a whole. The budget cuts include: 50% cut to American Indian Studies; 30% cut to Chicano and Latino Studies; 30% cut to German, Nordic, Slavic, & Dutch languages; 27.5% cut to African and African American Studies; 22% cut to Linguistics; and 10% cut to Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. 

As a whole, Ethnic studies programs only exist at UMN because of the Morrill Hall Takeover: a Black-led student occupation of Morrill Hall which houses the office of the university president. Students fought for decades to establish ethnic studies programs and we will not give them up without a fight! Administration is attempting to place the burden of budget cuts onto students, staff, and faculty of color instead of cutting the six figure salaries of top administrators.

These budget cuts are also an attempt to erase Ethnic, Gender, and Indigenous Studies programs altogether and attack the enrollment and rights of Black, Chicano, Latino and Native students at the University. The scale of these budget cuts would not only lead to the firing of many non-tenured faculty and graduate assistants in many of these departments, but would further overwork the already overburdened remaining faculty.

National SDS has been pointedly combating attacks on ethnic studies, diversity programs, and student cultural centers happening across the country. One way that these attacks materialize is what we see happening in states like Florida and Texas where the existence of DEI programs is being directly threatened on a legislative level. In Tampa, our fellow SDS members were attacked by USF police officers and are facing felony charges and potential expulsion for protesting the financial gutting of the DEI office at USF. Another way we are seeing these attacks arise in “progressive” states is more subversive budget cuts on the university level that still end up gutting these programs. This can be seen in the massive cuts made by the University of Connecticut in which they are trying to combine all their ethnic studies departments into one.

We demand an immediate increase in budget and a prioritization for the continuation of ethnic studies and GWSS programs. We demand that these cuts be immediately halted, and that any cuts the University makes from their budget be made from the salaries of the overpaid top-administrators. Alongside the CLA Council of Chairs, we stand in solidarity with Black, Chicano, Latino, and Native students and faculty and demand that the work of these underfunded departments be seen as vital to the U of MN, just as it is the students that invest their time and money into studying them.

Facing these cuts, we – students, staff and faculty – will not give up, we will not back down, we will unite and fight back!

Defend Ethnic Studies! Defend Gender and Queer Studies! Defend Diversity Programs! Chop From the Top!

MILWAUKEE and MADISON, WI

Voces de la Frontera

Chicago, IL

When We Fight, We Win! May Day March 2023

Saturday, April 29, 1:00pm

Union Park, Chicago, IL

Join union and community members in Union Park on April 29 at 1pm for a rally and march in celebration of the people who make the world go round and who have the power to shut it down. On International Workers Day we come together to commemorate those who have struggled throughout history to get us to where we are, and we resolve to keep fighting for the end of exploitation and oppression everywhere.

We are marching for: Defend Immigrant and Workers Rights, Legalization for All, Support the Right to Unionize, Stop Police Crimes/Police Accountability Now, Defend LGBTQ & Reproductive Rights

Come out to Union Park with your friends and family. Endorsed by: Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Little Village Lawndale High Schoofl Fight Back!, Centro Sin Fronteras/Familia Latina Unida, Anakbayan Chicago, Mientras Haya Amor Hay Esperanza, Chicago Teachers Union, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Arab American Action Network, Students for a Democratic Society – UIC, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Chicago, Indivisible Chicago Alliance. 

Dallas, TX

May Day Celebration | Patriarchy, War, Poverty, Pollution: There is Only One Solution!

Saturday, April 29, 11:00am

Lake Cliff Park, 1200 N Zang Blvd, Dallas, TX

Times are getting tough, but if we unite we will win! Join us for Dallas’ annual International Workers Day celebration with organizers and activists from across DFW. May Day commemorates the struggle and sacrifices of the Haymarket martyrs. These organizers for the eight hour day were executed by the U.S. in an attempt people who dared to struggle. Far from crushing their movement, their deaths inspired an annual, international celebration of working class struggle.

Dayton, OH

Saturday, April 29, 5:00 pm

23 N Main St, Dayton, OH

Workers of the world unite! Join with FRSO to celebrate International Workers Day as we continue to struggle for the liberation of the international working class!

Denver, CO

Reclaim May Day

Monday, May 1, 4:00pm

Colorado State Capitol, 200 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO

May 1st is a day of special significance for the labor movement. While it has been hijacked recently by anti-worker and anti-union forces, union members who stay true to the origins of May Day, celebrate its birth as a day of world-wide solidarity, a day to remember past struggles, and a day to demonstrate our hope for a better future. Organized by CWA Local 7799

Detroit, MI

May Day Detroit 2023

Monday, May 1, 5:00pm

Clark Park Southwest Detroit, 1130 Clark St, Detroit, MI

Join the annual Detroit May Day rally and march in honor of international workers day.

There will be speakers addressing the most important labor, immigrant, LGBTQia, women and antiracist struggles taking place in Detroit and throughout the world.

Grand Rapids, MI

International Workers Day!

Saturday, April 29, 10:00am

“Spirit of Solidarity” Labor Monument, Ah-Nab-Awen Park at Pearl & Front Street, across the street from the Grand Rapids Public 

Rally with leaders of today’s labor, immigrant, student & people’s movements. The West Michigan Stagehands Union IATSfE 26 is hosting an International Workers Day gathering with speakers from the Kent Ionia Labor Council, Teamsters, ATU bus drivers union, Lake Michigan Credit Union workers union, GVSU student-workers, family and friends of Patrick Lyoya, Cosecha immigrant rights, and more. Celebrate restoring union representation and prevailing wage laws in Michigan. Demand Michigan film jobs return! Support Teamsters as they build to strike UPS. Demand drivers’ licenses for all. Defend DACA! Justice for Patrick Lyoya! (African immigrant murdered by GRPD officer). 

Green Bay, WI

May Day Celebration – International Worker’s Day

Sunday, April 30, 1:00pm

Leicht Memorial Park, 128 Dousman St, Green Bay, WI

Workers – this day belongs to us! Please join us to celebrate the history of worker struggle in the U.S. Let us stand together while we look towards a better future.

Jacksonville, FL

May Day, May Day! Our unions are under attack!

Saturday, April 29, 2:00pm Eastern

Duval County Courthouse, 501 W Adams St, Jacksonville, FL

Come out to show solidarity with our city’s rank & file workers. Unions historically have protected our most vulnerable workers – and this is why we see such an intense attempt in Florida to weaken organized labor and create a more exploitative relationship between companies and their workers. 

Los Angeles, CA

May Day Boyle Heights 2023

Monday, May 1, 4:00pm Pacific

E Cesar Chavez Ave & N Mathews St, Los Angeles, CA

March with us through our barrio! Join the 9th annual May Day march and rally that Centro CSO hosts. Be sure to attend this free event! Bring a hat, comfortable shoes, sunscreen, and a bottle of water. We will be marching for one mile. Parking is FREE and available at Ficket & Chavez. Demands: Leglaization for ALL, Community control over LASD, Protect public education.

Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

FRSO International Workers Day Program

Saturday, April 29, 6:00pm-8:00pm

Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Office, 67 8th Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN

Join FRSO in celebrating the most important working class holiday: International Workers Day! At this event, you’ll hear from speakers across the people’s movements in our city. Organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Twin Cities.

May Day March for Immigrant & Worker’s Rights!

Monday, May 1, 5:00pm

MSP Adult Education Center, 2015 East Lake St – March to Roof Depot

Initiated by MN Workers United, MN Immigrat Rights Action Committee (MIRAC). May 1st is International Workers Day, a day for protest and a day for the working class to get in the streets and march! 

Milwaukee, WI

137th Anniversary Commemoration of the Bay View Tragedy

Sunday, May 7, 3:00pm

S Superior & E Russell Ave, Milwaukee, WI

Join the Wisconsin Labor History Society in commemorating the Bay View Tragedy. This event will take place in person. The program will include a dramatic reenactment, music, wreath-laying, and reading the names of the workers who lost their lives. On the Fifth of May, 1886, thousands of Milwaukee workers marched on the huge Bay View Rolling Mills as part of a nationwide effort to win the 8-hour day. When the marchers were 200 yards away, the State Militia fired, killing seven. This was the bloodiest labor disturbance in Wisconsin’s history, and began a new struggle for a more humane workplace and a more just society. Join us now, 137 years later, as a diverse group of Milwaukeeans commemorates the story of this historic event. Join us afterwards at the Beulah Brinton House (2590 S. Superior Street) for music and refreshments, courtesy of the Bay View Historical Society.

New Orleans, LA

International Workers Day – Legalization for all! Rally & March

Monday, May 1, 5:00pm

Benito Juarez Statue, Basin St & Conti St – march to City Hall

Join us for our 3rd annual march celebrating International Worker’s Day and to fight for immigrant’s rights and legalization for all!

San José, CA

A History of May Day: 137 Years of Socialist and Workers’ Struggle!

Saturday, April 29, 11am

San José Peace and Justice Center, 48 S 7th St #101, San José, CA

Learn about a comprehensive history of May Day and about current union struggles of graduate students!

San José May Day – International Worker’s Day Rally and March

Monday, May 1, 3:00pm

Roosevelt Park, 901 E Santa Clara St, San José, CA

Join us to celebrate the achievements of the working class and continue to demand: Unions for All! All workers have the right to organize! Organized by the San José May Day Coalition. 

Seattle, WA

International Workers Day May 1st March & Rally for Immigrant & Workers Rights

Monday, May 1, 11:30am

Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, 915 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA

Come one, come all to this year’s annual May Day March in Seattle! Join the FRSO Seattle contingent as we march alongside El Comité, May 1st Action Coalition, BAYAN Seattle, Unite Here Local 8, and many others. Defend workers and immigrants’ rights!

May Day Panel

Sunday, May 7, 2:00pm

Hear union members and immigrants speak about their current campaigns in Seattle as we commemorate 137 years of May Day!

Tampa, FL

May Day Rally Against the Union Busting Bill

Sunday, April 30, 2:00pm

In front of HSEF Hall, 5126 N Florida Ave, Tampa, FL

This International Worker’s Day, protest against SB256/HB1445 and all other attacks on unions from the DeSantis administration. Endorsed by HCTA, Polk Education Association, AFSCME Local 3342, Tampa Bay SDS, Tampa Bay Community Action Committee, and Tampa FRSO. 

Tallahassee, FL

Rally

Saturday, April 29, 2:00pm

Cascades Park, Tallahassee, FL

Join us for International Workers’ Day, as we stand in solidarity with all oppressed communities and demand a more equitable and just society. As working-class people, activists, and students, we must unite and demand a better future for all. Together, we can demonstrate the power of the working class and demand real change.

Speakers from the labor movement, immigrant rights, anti-war, student, and youth movements will come together to address the issues of systemic racism, police brutality, LGBTQ+ rights, women and reproductive rights, and Black lives. Attendees are encouraged to display signs with messages demanding rights for LGBTQ people, community control of the police, increased wages, and better conditions for working people.

Please join our call to action to stand up and rally for May Day 2023. We ask that you share this event with your networks through email, social media, and in your meetings. Let’s come together and show the strength of our solidarity!

Co-sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Tallahassee Community Action Committee, FSU Students for a Democratic Society and FSU Graduate Assistants United.

Tulsa, OK

International Worker’s Day!

Monday, May 1, 12:00pm

8124 E. 21st. St, Unit A

In support of workers and immigrant struggles, we’re inviting everyone interested to participate! Food and drink provided. Let us build May Day into a holiday every worker and oppressed person will celebrate!

[ES] Únase a nosotros el lunes 1 de mayo de 2023, como parte de un día nacional de acción, para nuestra huelga estatal y marcha anual.

La marcha comenzará a las 11:00 a. m. desde la oficina de Voces Milwaukee, ubicada en 1025 S. 5th. Street, Milwaukee, WI, 543204.

Encuentre más informacion en https://fb.me/e/1aORSfpWX
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[EN] Join us on Monday, May 1st, 2023, as part of a national day of action, for our annual statewide strike and mass march.

The march starts at 11:00 a.m. from the Voces Milwaukee office, located at 1025 S. 5th. Street, Milwaukee, WI, 543204.

Find more information at https://fb.me/e/1aORSfpWX

Graphic Design by Harold Mesa from a photo taken by Claudio Martinez.

On May 4, 1970 at Kent State University, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd gathered to protest the Vietnam War. Four students were killed and nine were wounded. In its immediate aftermath, a student-led strike forced the temporary closure of colleges and universities across the country.

On May 15, 1970 at Jackson State College, Mississippi police opened fire on a crowd of students killing two and wounding twelve. Racial tension between white motorists who traveled through campus, a false rumor about the assassination of Fayette mayor Charles Evers, the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings contributed to the students’ protest.

Learn more about the tragedy that occurred

at Jackson State College. This video was produced by

Jackson State University, Office of Communications.

Click here.

The Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument – Chicago, Illinois

Four men were executed, one committed suicide in prison and three others were pardoned by Illinois Governor Peter Altgeld.

The Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument commemorates workers’ struggle to achieve the eight-hour workday and the 1886 rally in Haymarket Square that led to the hanging of four leaders of the fight for workers’ rights. 

On May 4, 1886 a group of workers gathered in Haymarket Square in Chicago to protest police brutality against strikers at the South Side McCormick Reaper Factory. At the conclusion of the meeting, police marched in and demanded an end to the gathering. An unknown assailant threw a bomb into the crowd, and police shots rang out. Several police officers and protestors were killed or wounded. Police later apprehended eight labor activists, four of whom would be executed. 

In Dec. 1887 the Pioneer Aid and Support Association was incorporated with the purpose of “providing for the families of the executed men and of erecting a monument to their memory.” 

The monument marks the gravesite of the Haymarket martyrs

— August Spies, Adolph Fischer, Albert Parsons, Louis Lingg, and George Engel. German Waldheim Cemetery, with its nondiscrimination policy, was the only cemetery in the Chicago area that would accept their remains. The dedication ceremony on June 25, 1893 was attended by over 8,000 people. Floral tributes came from unions in England, France and Belgium. 

On Feb. 18, 1997 the monument was officially designated a National Historic Landmark. 

From: The Smithsonian American Art Museum,

Inventory of American Sculpture

Why May Day? See: Illinois Labor History Society

Clark Park, 1130 Clark Street, Southwest Detroit, 4-7 P.M.

May Day, or International Workers Day, continues to celebrate the resilience of militant workers’ struggles and to fight for the interests of the working class. On May 1, 1886, hundreds of thousands of workers launched a general strike—the first in the history of the United States—which saw demonstrations in all the big cities greater than anything America had ever seen. They were marching for an 8-hour day, among other things. Although May Day is now celebrated internationally, it was only recently that it picked up again in our country. On May 1, 2006, thousands of Latino immigrant workers and allies walked off the job struggling for immigrant rights, worker’s rights, and amnesty for undocumented workers. Their struggle for democratic and labor rights reignited the flame in the US, and since then May Day continues to be a powerful force for the working class and people’s forces. May Day represents not only the fight of workers within specific industries but also the importance of combating racism and all forms of oppression.

This year, join the May Day Detroit Coalition, which is made up of labor and people’s organizations, in a rally and march at Clark Park in Southwest Detroit at 5:00PM. Special guests will speak about the fights that their unions are engaging in, upcoming strikes by the Teamsters and United Auto Workers, the struggle of Railroad Workers United against rail monopolies, the fight for reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ liberation, the struggle against national and racial oppression, and more. Local artists and activists will give cultural performances to inspire us all.

We join together in solidarity and continue the historic struggle of working people for the following demands:

EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK! EQUALITY FOR UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS! NATIONALIZE KEY INDUSTRIES AND BANKS! END US WARS! HOUSING AND HEALTHCARE FOR ALL! PEOPLE OVER PROFITS! END POLICE BRUTALITY! SMASH RACISM AND WHITE SUPREMACY! ABOLISH ICE!

LABOR DONATED