This May Day, March for Immigrant Rights!
Wednesday, May 1
5pm pre-march rally at Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Hall (10 S. 19th St., Pittsburgh, PA)
6pm March from PFT Hall to IBEW Local 5 Hall (5 Hot Metal St. Pittsburgh, PA)
6:30 pm Rally and Celebration at IBEW Local 5 Hall
 RSVP on Facebook to let us know you're coming! May 1 st has been historically linked to international workers’ rights. It started, May 1 1886 when the U.S. Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions – which included
immigrant workers from all over -- ruled that an 8 hour work day, would be a full and legal work day. The ruling class refused, causing riots and the long and even deadly battle to win rights for workers. It wasn’t long before workers from all over the world began protesting and standing up for their rights. While we may think we have secured safe conditions, the promise of a minimum wage and overtime after a 40 hour work week for all working people, the truth is that we have much more work to do. The battle that began between the ruling class and the working class in 1886 is still smoldering today. Right here in the US millions of workers are treated as second class citizens, earning unconscionably low wages -- driving wages down for everyone – trapped by fear, and then being used as a scapegoat for our problems. Undocumented workers make up growing portions of low wage workers, often being exploited by their employers. Our current
immigration system creates a clear list of winners and losers. While huge corporations, private prisons and the fast food industry continue to benefit from the current system, we, the working and tax-paying people of the United States, continue to lose every day. Our current immigration system is broken. It’s expensive, it doesn’t work (undocumented workers have increased exponentially since more money has been spent on border patrol) and it creates a second class of workers, who corporations and companies use to lower wages for everyone. We will march on May Day to demand that our government come up with a plan that includes comprehensive immigration reform. Now is the time to keep families united; now is the time to hold employers accountable for the exploitation of millions of people across the country; now is the time to give all working people a fighting chance at a better
life. | | |
Help us Spread the Word About May Day Fight Back Pittsburgh is working hard with our community allies to mobilize for a major demonstration on May 1 (International Workers Day) in support of comprehensive immigration reform. Details for the demonstration are still being finalized but keep your calendars clear starting at 5pm on May 1. We have a series of upcoming events and activities to help mobilize for this exciting action! Join us:
- April 24 from 5-8 pm at the USW Headquarters to phonebank to turn out union members and allies for the May 1 demonstration
- April 25 from 5-8 pm at the USW Headquarters to make signs, practice chants and build art and props for May 1
- April 29 from 5-8 pm at the USW headquarters for a final phone bank to turn out union members and community allies for May 1.
Please RSVP for these events by shooting us an e-mail at in...@fightbackpittsburgh.org so we can know how many materials to prepare! | |
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS: HARVEST OF EMPIRE
SUNDAY, APRIL 21, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Human Services Building, Liberty Room
One Smithfield Street (downtown Pittsburgh) - free parking in rear of building
Brilliant new documentary (based the powerful book Harvest of Empire by Democracy Now's Juan Gonzales) will be shown, with comments by Carl Davidson and Guillermo Perez of Fight Back Pittsburgh, followed by discussion.
Sponsors (list in formation): Education Working Group of Fight Back Pittsburgh; Economic Justice Committee of Thomas Merton Center; International Socialist Organization; Socialist Party of Allegheny County | | | |
Fight Back Pittsburgh! is the community union of United Steelworkers. We’re not just fighting for good jobs for Steelworkers; we’re fighting for a better community for all of us. But we need you to join us.
You don’t have to work in a steel mill to join Fight Back Pittsburgh. You just need to believe that we need an economy that works for all of us and that together we can stand up and fight back to win a fair deal for working people in our community.
Fight Back Pittsburgh! is part of the United Steelworkers Associate Member Program and we work a lot like a local union. We’re a
grassroots, democratic organization that works together to fight in our neighborhoods, in our local government, and in our workplaces for change and to improve our lives. We meet monthly and we take action based on the ideas and proposals of rank-and-file members like you. | | |
