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Subscribe to RSSThe Occupy Wall Street movement is organizing a nationwide strike on May 1st, the International Workers Day. Panelists on "Up With Chris Hayes" discuss the history of worker strikes in the United States, their subsequent decline, and how Occupy plans to revive labor protests.
May Day protests may disrupt the morning commute in major U.S. cities Tuesday as labor, immigration and Occupy activists rally support on the international workers' holiday.
Demonstrations, strikes and acts of civil disobedience are being planned around the country, including the most visible organizing effort by anti-Wall Street groups since Occupy encampments came down in the fall.
While protesters are backing away from a call to block San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, bridge district ferry workers said they'll strike Tuesday morning to shut down ferry service, which brings commuters from Marin County to the city. Ferry workers have been in contract negotiations for a year and have been working without a contract since July 2011 in a dispute over health care coverage, the Inlandboatmen's Union said.
A coalition of bridge and bus workers said they will honor the picket line, which may target an area near the bridge's toll plaza. Occupy activists from San Francisco and Oakland are expected to join the rally.
"We ask supporters to stand with us at strike picket lines on May Day and to keep the bridge open," said Alex Tonisson, an organizer and co-chair of the Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition.
Police say they are working with other area law enforcement agencies and have a plan in place for potential disruptions. They would not discuss specifics.
Across the bay in Oakland, where police and Occupy protesters have often clashed, officers are preparing for a long day as hundreds of "General Strike" signs have sprouted across town.
In New York City, where the first Occupy camp was set up and where large protests brought some of the earliest attention — and mass arrests — to the movement, leaders plan a variety of events, including picketing, a march through Manhattan and other "creative disruptions against the corporations who rule our city."
Organizers have called for protesters to block one or more bridges or tunnels connecting Manhattan, the city's economic engine, to New Jersey and other parts of the city.
The Occupy movement began in September with a small camp in a lower Manhattan plaza that quickly grew to include hundreds of protesters using the tent city as their home base. More than 700 people were arrested Oct. 1 as they tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge.
The city broke the camp up in November, citing sanitary and other concerns, but the movement has held smaller events and protests periodically since then.
Elsewhere on the West Coast, Occupy Seattle has called for people to rally at a park near downtown Tuesday. Mayor Mike McGinn has warned residents there could be traffic delays and has said city officials have evidence — including graffiti and posters — that some groups plan to "commit violence, damage property and disrupt peaceful free speech activity."
In Los Angeles, demonstrators are planning to take to the streets to champion immigrant rights.
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Leave a Comment:
Helen? Could you make some popcorn? The Haves and Have Nots are at it again.
true you must deserve more well perhaps we will allow this.
Uh, this isn't a workers holliday. This is a communist holliday, AND I WONT CELEBRATE IT!
You're missing the whole point---The fast disappearing middle-class-the working poor. and those disenfranchised by corporate America when they moved their plants oveseas have had enough of corporate and banking greed.The revolution is alive and well -the 95% against the top 5%-Joe and Jane Average are p---ed off !And they have lost their patience with our politicians.
Jay Arr,
Way to go run off the rest of the businesses so we all won't have jobs...great thinking their Einstein. By the way your party the party of no budget ruined my business of 24 years through their mismanagement. Who is going to pay me and my employees for our losses...thought so. Get a grip.
Who is pushing the companies out of the country? It is the Government, through taxes and regulations, High pay, (pay plus benifits) dealing with unions, and other costs of doing business here. People complain about Corperations and Banks, but scream when they can not get a bank loan to buy their new car, or home. Without Corperations were will your middle class get jobs??? The protests will do nothing to create more jobs (except for the police and trash pickup workers. If some workers are in danger of loosing their jobs (if on probation for example) then they run a good chance to loose their job. The protesters just want to get on the news to have their 15 min. of fame and to show the world their bleed hearts. Then afterwards go collect their SDI checks. Whey do they not put the same time and money into starting their own businesses instead, far more productive.
"...acts of civil disobedience..." REALLY? You see how they are?? Obedience is another word for slavery. We'd prefer "acts of disenchantment." Get a clue already.
Obedience is another word for slavery ...
Please show me this in a Thesaurus.
me
Why would good person think this is right .
This is what the DNC and Unions are all about.. Who do you think is busing these leaches of society into NY and feeding them. Luckily for them, Obama transfered 4 billion dollars of taxpaying shareholder wealth from GM to the UAW to pay for such events....
"Dems don't care"? I think I will change my name to the "Right Doesn't Give a Shet!" about anyone else that is! You work on getting people like the Kochs and Waltons out of our government and give workers and voters their rights back and we will see about getting back to our lives and quietly living right next door to people like yourself! Then we won't have to stage protest marches and camp out on Wall Street or make important people like yourself late to make money!
Do you think we are going to just let your party stab everyone else in the back? Ya gotta another thing comin'!!! Have a nice evening....we will be waiting for you tomorrow.
Why does the actual position and problems of most americans mean nothing in real solutions.
There is no commonsense in this country anymore. You wacko RepubliCON tea party idiots need a education go back to school. You are the ones who are taking this country down you anti American idiots. SOCIALIST WORKERS UNITE. tea party go to hell
brian we need answers not more wars on us.
Brian,
Hey jackass. Start your own business. Come on now. Be a good socialist and start your own business. Then, you can spread your wealth around, ptuz!!!
Show us all how to be a good socialist. What's that?......You can't???? Of course not. Impossible to be a good socialist without capitalism supporting you!! Get a life, jackass!!!
Socialist workers never created a business or employed anyone...capitalist did all that. Get ready for real poverty due to your moronic beliefs.
I ran my own business and employed people for 24 years what have you created besides drag on the economy? Now thanks to individuals like you running the country I will lose my company this year. Get a grip you are the problem not the solution...just look at Greece for an example of your stinking thinking.
Why don't these tea party protestors seem to understand (no education) that when President Obama took over the reins in 2009 your Republicons had essentially ran the national debt to almost $11 trillion < alot of money for you tea baggers. Reagan added 1.7 trillion Bush added $5trillion more for his illegal wars.Where were the tea partiers then. Down south somewere. It's not to late to save America from the republicons and there anti American cause. SWU
@Notsosure10
In reading your last couple of posts my curiosity has been aroused. Could you be so kind as to elaborate a bit upon the problems you have been and are now experiencing? Would said problems perhaps be related to the destruction of the consumer base? Or...?
This is not a trick question. I am actually interested in your thoughts.
Thanks.
Filthy smelly dirt bag lazy losers. Take a bath, put on some clean clothes and get a job. Problem solved.
Thank-you 54Buick,
For creating all those jobs you can now offer to all those people.
Can someone please go down there with bats, knives, guns, etc. And take care of these occupy scumbags once and for all? I'm hoping at the very least the cops can crack some skulls and blind some people with pepper spray.
Then, perhaps round up these fcukers ans drag them behind a pickup truck?
Eat a dick, a55holes.
Don't believe any illegal person has American Rights or should....Do know Govt is owned by corps.. believe all can agree on that obvious fact. Americans aren't happy with illegal immigration....the corps who feed the govt to pocket as much as their greedy hands can get....do and will continue to allow illegal immigration to occur....corps have killed OUR Country. Reform is inevitable now:)
If all the so called Evil Corps left the Country (I hear plenty of gripe from the left because some are) where would the govenment get the money for all those food stamps, SS checks, and so on when you have 90% unemployment rate???? Only farmers would have jobs, because then the small businesses would then be the big businesses, and the left would want to kick them out too. Sorry but Govenment is a bigger problem then the Corperations, because they accept the bribes, gifts, graft, and other vices. If we had moral, and ethicial government officals then they would reject any and all graft. Just because it is offered you do not have to accept it.
That is easy Micheal, by taxing the ridiculously rich and the stupendously flagrant money spending corperations.
Most of the occupied groups are whining malcontents. The ones who want to work want jobs they are not likely to be qualified to do. Because of this, they whine. The other ones (likely to majority) don't want to work and want things given to them........just like a child.
These people need to get a life, get a job, and start actually contributing to society like the rest of us. Since when have we decided that is ok to just hate people for having more than we do, instead of working hard so that we can have it ourselves?!
Because socity had made it easier to do nothing and collect money. Why work for 5 days a week to earn 360 dollars when you can sit at home with your beer and collect, 250 dollars, plus another 100 in food stamp, then get low rent housing, not to mention all the other free food programs out there. For anyone earning less then $15 an hour the government has made them a fool to work. Those poor kids just starting out are supporting the other lazy ones. The problem is it takes about 20 workers to support 1 non worker, and we know the ratio now is closer to 2 workers to 1 non worker.
Captain my captain the fearful trip has just began. The streets will fill with corpses just for fun. Let the blood flow over fiat dough. To hell they go for what they not know. Since love of money is the root of all evil, let it begin the war of Sin. After it is over ,once again the field of clover . Start all over. The future near. With man it is never over. So fill the streets with rotting meat to fertilize fields of clover. Mother Natures bees in the summer breeze ,honey from the clover. When this cycles done and all the fun. War man begun is done and over. So here we go in to the winter night,. to become ashes and dust in history's human bust. No one cares but for the wild hares who dine on next springs clover. So never regret or fret the fight you fought to fertilize green fields of clover.
Because someone has a different take on the problems of this country,there are some who think that it's ok to violently attack and kill them? "Drag them behind a pickup truck"? Really is that rational? Must be a texas thing,i've heard there really good at that.
jumper,
To answer your question,,,,,Yes!
By the way, what problems does our country have that you think some left-wing lunatic socialist can fix?
I've got an idea...Maybe they can all start their own businesses and show us all how it's done. Did I REALLY say that???????
Oh good Bernie--you are back. Are you still whining about running a business on the south side of Chicago? Why don't you get a real job if you can't hack running a business any more? Why should anyone feel sorry for the decisions you made in life? You thought you were going to get rich and you would hire other people to make money for you right?
Give us your address and tomorrow all of us left wing socialists will march around in front of your place of business. Then you can take pictures of us ruining your business and whine for years about the money you lost that day! You are a joke without even trying buddy!
Mayday is what you say just before you crash...strange coincidence...I think not.
These jackasses wouldn't know how to run a little dry cleaner on the corner!
it is not Illegal Immigrant Rights, it is Criminal Rights, that superseed the Citizens Rights.
Yeah, the protesters can make life difficult sometimes, but you know what? They are the ones who are making noise about the injustice of our society.
That matters!
God bless them, and I hope that someday they bring this whole corrupt system crashing down! We need to build something new. America can't be only about Greed, money, and getting rich. That is a flawed way of existing. America needs to be a place where everyone can partake of the prospericty, not just the few privilaged rich.
America needs to wake up! There is something horribly wrong with our nation. The wealthy have taken over our government. The rest of us are being reduced to being corporate serfs. What we have here in the United states is a form of modern corporate feudalism. This has to stop. The average American needs to have a fighting chance to make a decent life for himself. We need opportunity, access to decent education, good jobs, healthcare, decent pay, secure retirement, and a a decent lifestyle (not working like a slave for ungrateful rich!).
THE WEALTHY BETTER WAKE UP TOO, THEY ARE ABOUT TO LOSE EVERYTHING IF THEY DON'T CHANGE. When the suffering gets bad enough, the mob will tear this place apart.
DAMN RIGHT IT'S ABOUT CLASS WARFARE! HAS IT EVER BEEN ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE?
the only thing the occupiers have proven is that we have a bigger meth problem in this country than we originally
thought!
Most of these people are just lucky to have a job. They are too dumb to do anything else for themselves.
So these socialist unions and idiots promote more dispairity. Just do the best you can, achieve greatness
by doing good, instead of expecting someone else to do it for you. There is no equality among human
beings, because some work harder, some are smarter, and some will achieve more through hard work.
And that is a good thing. If you don't contribute, then just go away and die somewhere. I hope the
law enforcement comes out in strenght, and arrest everyone who is an idiot (majority), and fines them
that will help with our economy. Occupy crowd is too dumb to work. That is why we need "ILLEGAL"
aliens to do the jobs these idiots can't comprehend to do or are just too lazy. I am a Capitalist, and I
love it.
all the way to the bank...... ha ha ha ha ha
Part of the march is against the rise of right wing extremism in this country, and how the Republican party harbors such extremists. Right wing extremists are violent, homicidal and terroristic.
bernie:
Do you have these thoughts often? So the prior 8 years of GWB had nothing at all to do with this mess,honestly you think this just got started? And to answer your questions yes,Bill Gates,George Soros,Warren Buffet among others.You may not agree with there politics but you can't dismiss there results,huge tax giveaway's,deregulating of the finacial insitutions,unfunded wars,a large goverment give away in medcare part d,if you refuse to address and admit these facts,then reality is nothing but a far off dream.
Vote Obama ....
Keep his freebees flowing like the great Mississippi River ....
smiles tu u tu fun and may the wind bring fortune to your door semper fi sat. night kit kat club again?
You tell em Dry Lake ....
The following is a post by TheNewDeal:
"Let's get one thing straight...
Employers and corporations did not feel generous and decide to give you two days off every week to have a social/personal life. (We now call them weekends). Corporations did not just feel like being nice one day and give their employees paid vacations. CEOs didn't get together in a board room and say "Let's give our emplyees more rights at work" or "maybe there should be a law to limit our power over an employee".
Virtually ALL the rights you have at work, whether you work in the public or private sector, all of the benifts and rights you enjoy everyday are there because unions fought hard and long for them against big business who did everything they could to prevent giving you your rights. Many union leaders and members even lost their lives for things we take for granted today.
The right-wing attack on unions is nothing more than ignorance, lack of education and propoganda.
If republicans would rather support corporations instead of organized groups of workers working to secure a fair work enviorment A.K.A. a union, I ask them to walk the walk as well. Give up every benefit and right that you use that unions are responsible for.
Completely trust and submit yourself to the to the corporate agenda you fight for. Play by the rules with no influence from democrats or labor unions to try to force rights among the workers of this country. Dedicate your life to making their company more money than the year before. Just remember that this may be sacrificing the union rights you enjoy everyday. I mean, you don't want to be a hypocrite, do you? Like bashing unions on your union fought lunch break? Which means if you practice what you preach, you don't get a lunch break.
Corporations used to work employees 80+ hours a week, offer no breaks, hire children, offer horrid, unsanitary work conditions, paid literally next to nothing, and even murder. Not murder with a pen like they do today, but actual murder. They basically did whatever they wanted.
This is what they were like before unions. If we rid the world of unions tomorrow, who's to say they won't go back to the way they were merely 70 years ago? The GOP governor of Maine signed a bill to repeal child labor laws this year, maybe they are going back to their roots whether we have unions or not.
So conservatives, please practice what you preach and give up all these rights and leave the umbrella of these laws for they were brought to you by unions...
36 Reasons Why You Should Thank A Unions
1. Weekends
2. All Breaks at Work, including your Lunch Break
3. Paid Vacation
4. FMLA
5. Sick Leave
6. Social Security
7. Minimum Wage
8. Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination)
9. 8-Hour Work Day
10. Overtime Pay
11. Child Labor Laws
12. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
13. 40 Hour Work Week
14. Worker's Compensation (Worker's Comp)
15. Unemployment Insurance
16. Pensions
17. Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations
18. Employer Health Care Insurance
19. Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees
20. Wrongful Termination Laws
21. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
22. Whistleblower Protection Laws
23. Employee Polygraph Protect Right (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee)
24. Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS)
25. Compensation Increases and Evaluations (Raises)
26. Sexual Harassment Laws
27. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
28. Holiday Pay
29. Employer Dental, Life and Vision Insurance
30. Privacy Rights
31. Pregnancy and Parental Leave
32. Military Leave
33. The Right to Strike
34. Public Education for Children
35. Equal Pay Rights of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employees to pay men and women equally for the same amount of work)
36. Laws Ending Sweatshops in the United States
So will conservatives give up all 36 of these union fought rights? Will they stand by their rhetoric that unions are thugs and refuse to take benefits from these "thugs" or will they hypocrtically carry on the diatribe that unions are running this country while enjoying their weekends and vacations?
Or...
Maybe they could just admit that while not perfect, like everything else, unions have done great things for working people that they use and benefit from everyday of their lives?
Maybe a conservative union hating family got to have some of the best moments of their live while on vacation from work, and they still got to come to a job still there waiting for them. because of the unions?
Maybe a conservative can't way for their lunch break so they can turn on the radio and listen to Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck talk about how horrible unions are?
If you don't want to give up all your union fought rights and benefits at work, I understand. That's why I'm pro-union and vote democratic.
But maybe you could just admit that unions are not demons spawned from hell, and admit the FACT that they have improved your life in more ways than one?
Or am I asking too much?"
Unions have the hard workers or laborers working to pay for 2 groups of executives ....
The companies executives ....
And the unions executives ....
That's real nice ....
ha and we the worker gets nothing but grief
And some like unions ....
But the unions surely love all the hard workers that pay their salary too ....
Unions a NPO?