On the eve of May Day, the General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza calls on workers in the U.S. to translate their solidarity into effective actions that go beyond statements and create real pressure to stop the Gaza genocide.
Invoking the U.S.’s militant labor history, Muhammad Blaidi of the Palestine New Federation of Trade Unions calls on workers in this country to join with Palestinians in their struggle for liberation. “Americans don’t need to represent occupation,” he says. “They can take a stand for humanity.”
In many cities around the world May 1, 2020 will be distinguished by the absence of demonstrations for International Workers’ Day, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, many will mark the occasion within their homes, as the crisis lays bare the deepening struggles faced by working-class people as a result of failed neoliberal policies, inequality and colonialism.
Ahmad Kabariti talks to workers across Gaza on May Day to find out what they think of the labor holiday. Most are just happy to be working. Maged al-Dali, 27, an auto painter working in an industrial zone in Shejaiya tells him, “If you work, you are lucky, if not, then you starve.”