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Dear John,
Today is May Day. A time when working folks, unions of working people, and allies join together to honor our past and acknowledge the progress we’ve made and the struggles we collectively face. This year, May Day is an especially trying time for so many of us. Tens of millions are out of work or working in unsafe conditions, as we continue to battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis. Many more are struggling to cover the basics like food, medicine, and the rent.
Make no mistake—the crisis we face in this moment has not stifled our resolve, nor have we backed down from demanding big corporations put people over profits.
It’s why we joined with working people and partners to call on the biggest corporate landlords in the United States to forgive the rent. Some responded. Most haven’t. We set a deadline of April 30 and huge companies like Equity Residential ignored our demands, even as nearly 200,000 people signed a pledge to strike beginning today—and millions more can’t make rent or mortgage payments. Working people need rent forgiveness NOW!
It’s why we stand in solidarity with those on strike from Amazon, Target, Instacart, and other major companies as they protest working conditions and call on some of the wealthiest corporations in the world to put the health and safety of workers before profits.
It’s why we stand with the people—especially the undocumented folks—working in food processing plants, who were ordered back to work by Donald Trump, despite the extreme danger they face in the workplace.
It’s why May Day 2020 marks a turning point when working people finally said enough is enough. An unprecedented time calls for unprecedented action and it’s why we’re calling on you to join with activists around the world to stand up for justice:
May Day can’t happen with you—the working people who will rebuild our economy and lead the movement forward to a more fair and just world.
In Solidarity,
Smiley Executive Director Jobs With Justice |
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