Boycotting the boycott? Immigrants ponder May 1 walkout

[Flabbergasted]

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/state/minnesota/14453984.htm

GREGG AAMOT
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Sylvia Gonzalez-Castro plans to skip class at the University of Minnesota on Monday so she can join other students and workers in a walkout to highlight the importance of immigrant workers and students.

"It will be a very big turnout," predicts Gonzalez-Castro, a board member at the La Raza Student Cultural Center.

Others aren't sure what to expect from Minnesota immigrants who are being asked to close their shops, walk off the job and skip school for a day. Even activists who support the boycott are treading lightly on the subject.

"There are people who have made up their minds not to go to work and have talked to their employers. And some students have talked to their teachers," said Teresa Ortiz of the Resource Center of the Americas, which is promoting the event. "But there are people who fear they may get into trouble, so we are telling them not to risk causing any problems at work."

The walkout is a follow-up to marches earlier this month that drew attention to the congressional debate about illegal immigration. The "Day Without Immigrants" is intended to show how immigrants contribute to the economy by leaving restaurants, hotels and manufacturing plants understaffed.

But some wonder how the public will react and whether it could cost immigrants their jobs.

Luis Bartolomei, interim executive director of the Chicano Latino Affairs Council said the event could serve to shed more light on the lives of immigrants, as the marches did. But he also said the council, a state agency, won't support any illegal activity, such as emergency workers taking time off or students skipping classes in schools requiring their attendance.

[grunion]

1. May 1st is a big Communist holiday....

Why didn't they wait until Labor Day when they really could've made an impact? This is too soon from the last one.

[Iris]

2. Perhaps because the immigration bill is on the table NOW?

By labor day, it will probably be law. Hell, today Frist said one will be passed by Memorial Day.

[TahitiNut]

3. Actually, it's "International Workers' Day"

It's a commemoration of the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago, Illinois, no less. The issue? Labor's demand for an eight-hour workday. It was celebrated as a National Holiday in the US until the psychotic "Red Scare" period. Heaven forbid that we honor labor! :eyes:

Instead, the US calls May 1 "Loyalty Day" as proclaimed each year by the pResident. Jingoism anyone? :puke:

When I was a kid in elementary school in California, we celebrated "May Day" with a "May Pole" ... festooning it with ribbons.

[grunion]

4. May Day, May Day...

"In the 20th century, May Day received the official endorsement of the Soviet Union; celebrations in communist countries during the Cold War era often consisted of large military parades and shows of common people in support of the government.

May Day is still celebrated by socialist, communist, and labor organizations in America."

(Wikipedia)