See May Day Messages Of Worker Solidarity In Essex County – Montclair, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, is an annual celebration that honors the ongoing struggles of workers and employees. And in Essex County, the holiday continues to hold a special place in many residents’ hearts.

On Friday, several groups and residents in the county offered messages of solidarity and hope for the future.

Peter Yacobellis, a candidate for the Montclair Township Council, gave a May Day shoutout via email, writing that he “couldn’t think of a more meaningful commemoration” as the shadow of the new coronavirus looms overhead.

Yacobellis said:

“Of the many profound lessons this pandemic has taught us about our society, our government and our human condition, top among them is the recognition and awareness it has raised about our workers and labor force. Many segments of the workforce that we have deemed essential to the basic functioning of our society, who we have asked to show up every day during this pandemic, are the often invisible and low wage workers of the service economy, who often also lack the stability and security of affordable health care, paid sick leave, safe working conditions and a living wage. They are the nurses, teachers, police officers, health care workers, truck drivers, tradesmen and the massive workforce within the production and supply chain of the goods and services we need–who comprise the working families of our increasingly struggling middle class. The way we truly recognize, celebrate and thank our essential workers is to fight for the long overdue economic justice they deserve.”

The Newark-based People’s Organization for Progress (POP) also offered a stirring message of solidarity with “the working class and laborers across the globe” on Friday – including those serving on the frontline of the coronavirus crisis.

The POP wrote:

“COVID-19 has amplified the desperate and dangerous conditions that exist for workers. The farmhand who toils to keep the food basket full. The supermarket and food delivery worker who until recently became essential so that others could remain safely cloistered. The transportation driver who moves minimum wage workers to and fro their jobs. The day laborer who braves the streets without any protections. The health care frontliner in fear of contracting the virus because of lack adequate PPEs. The mail carrier who continues to deliver the mail into contaminated commercial and residential places. Still, many more working-class and laborers to be recognized. We stand in #solidarity with them all.”

The POP added:

“At the last count, the unemployed rank stands at 30,000,000 in less than two months –30,000,000! – unprecedented by any measure. An economic crisis infused by a pandemic has revealed the underlying pernicious construct of the neoliberal international economic order. The burden of this crime weighs disproportionately on black, brown, female, immigrant and working-class white [people], who represents the frontline, low-wage and dispensable worker class. The urgency of workers to unite is palpable for the worker contract with business is untenable. POP takes a moral stand and calls for the right of workers to form into unions, the right to bargain, the right to strike, a basic universal income with a living wage, healthcare for all, and free college tuition for the masses. We live in a moment for workers to unite in the fight for human rights and dignity in work: now is the time.”

Another May Day message of support came from West Orange Councilwoman Cindy Matute-Brown, who wrote:

“For all who are ‘thanking’ our first responders, frontline and essential workers, let’s make it significant and meaningful. May 1, 1886, saw 200,000 workers strike nationwide to demand an 8 hour day. May 1, 2020, a day when many of us have the privilege of staying home and staying safe, many simply do not have that luxury. The essential workers and first responders must risk, not just their health and safety, but their lives and the lives of those they love. And here in West Orange, do so without the security of healthcare upon retirement for our new first responders. In the face of a pandemic which longterm effects are not yet known, we must do more than a gesture of gratitude. We must become educated and informed. We must ensure their rights and health are protected. We must demand a fair contract that includes the protection of their health today and in their retirement. This pandemic has demonstrated the incredible disparities in our healthcare system, let us not volunteer our first responders and their families to health care uncertainties.”

Across the state, a coalition of immigrant, labor and faith organizations planned to hold a day of protest events on May 1 in honor of May Day.

Several groups in Essex County were among the coalition, which included the ACLU-NJ, American Friends Service Committee, Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey, CATA – The Farmworker Support Committee, Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, Central Jersey Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City, Faith in New Jersey, Homes for All Newark, Hudson County Central Labor Council, IFPTE Local 194, Ironbound Community Corp, Laundry Workers Center, Laundry Workers Center, Make the Road New Jersey, New Brunswick Tenants Union, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, New Labor, Newark Water Coalition, NJ Citizen Action, NJ Time to Care Coalition, North New Jersey Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution New Jersey, South Jersey DSA, Unidad Latina en Acción NJ and the Wind of the Spirit-Immigrant Resource Center.

According to Make The Road New Jersey, the effort has adopted the hashtag #Recovery4All.

“Rent is also due for hundreds of thousands of New Jersey renters who are out of work,” the group said. “As COVID-19 rages across New Jersey, immigrant families have been excluded from relief, including health care, stimulus payments and unemployment insurance, as well as safetynet programs. Immigrants and workers across New Jersey will demand a recovery that includes everyone.”

The #Recovery4All platform includes:

#CancelRent – “We are in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis that is threatening our ability to hang onto our homes. We demand cancellation of rent, mortgage, and utility payments now; extension of the eviction and foreclosure moratorium and removal of the current loopholes; and the guarantee of safe, dignified, and cage-free shelter for anyone currently experiencing homelessness.”

#FreeThemAll – “We demand that ICE release all detainees back to their communities, not transfer individuals between facilities, and halt enforcement and raids. We demand that state and local governments provide comprehensive post-release support. Significantly reduce the number of people in jails and prisons, and implement comprehensive healthcare plans to protect those who remain incarcerated.”

#IAmEssential/#YNosotrosQue – “Undocumented workers and their families have been excluded from the federal stimulus funds, unemployment and other relief, creating an enormous gap between millions of workers and life-saving assistance. We demand federal stimulus for all at 2,000/month. New Jersey must create an income replacement program at $600/week for excluded workers plus stimulus payments. Congress must also automatically extend work permits for TPS & DACA holders in the next coronavirus relief package.”

#Worker Protection – “Workers deemed essential to the economy are risking their lives when exposed to hazardous and unsafe conditions. We demand that companies use a hierarchy of controls to limit worker exposure to COVID-19, expand worker access to paid sick days and personal time off. All workers in New Jersey need the right to refuse unsafe work, free of retaliation.”

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