Monday, September 7th Voces de la Frontera will be joining the annual Labor Day march sponsored by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council; which includes labor unions in Washington, Ozaukee, and Milwaukee County. The march will assemble at 10:30AM at Zeidler Park, 4th and Michigan, and finish at the Summerfest grounds.
In Racine, Voces de la Frontera will be joining the Racine County Labor Council for their Labor Day activities at Franksville Park, 9614 Northwestern Avenue (Hwy K & Hwy H) which starts at noon. In Madison, Voces de la Frontera will be joining the South Central Federation of Labor for their Labor Day activities at 1602 S Park Street which starts at noon.
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a US holiday that recognizes and celebrates the contributions of working class men and women. It’s origins are interesting because Labor Day, celebrated around the world on May 1st, actually originated in the United States in 1886 in the fight for the 8 hour day.
Yet Labor Day was officially changed by the US President and Congress to September to undermine international labor solidarity and to conceal a militant history of the labor movement in the United States; that included strikes and government repression. Indeed, May 1st was officially changed in the 1950s to “Law and Order Day”; today many lawyers provide free legal services to low-income workers on that day.
Voces de la Frontera has organized an annual mass march on May 1st since 2006 when Wisconsin’s Congressman Sensenbrenner sparked the modern immigrant rights movement. Many labor unions that represent, organize and advocate for immigrant workers have joined us on May 1st and since 2000 Voces de la Frontera, as an organization that fights for the rights of working people, has marched in the September Labor Day march sponsored by the labor unions.
This unity is essential because we are facing hard times. Though there continues to be hope in the promise that the Obama Administration will deliver on important legislation for working families: such as affordable public health care, accountability with banks to prevent foreclosures, job creation, and immigration reform—it is apparent that unless we broaden the movement and organize to support each other’s agenda — the opportunities we seek for our families will continue to dwindle.
I invite members and supporters of Voces de la Frontera to join us on Labor Day!