Friends — Sure, April showers bring May flowers but it brings lots of events, too! Read through our newsletter so see what’s coming up here in Washington.
🎤 Virtual Town Hall
Tomorrow at 5pm, Washington for Black Lives will go over this past 2022 legislative session from their eyes and discuss their upcoming
(like, election-season) priorities.
Set a reminder on your Facebook or watch it live!
🙅♀️ That Initiative has a number now
Remember how we mentioned an Initiative against requiring the super rich to pay their share? Well, it’s officially I-1929. Again, I-1929 was filed by Republican operative James Vander Stoep, and financially backed by the very billionaires who continue to swerve taxes while the rest of us pick up the slack. Worse yet, signing I-1929 means removing funds from public schools. In other words, DON’T DO IT.
🎥 Upcoming WCA video
Are we outdoing ourselves, or what. More accurately, none of the work we do would be possible without folks like you. So our 2022 legislative session video will feature some of you all-stars. Be sure to keep an eye on our social media so you don’t miss it!
✊ Worker unions making a comeback
Grocery workers signed contracts today at the Hilton in SeaTac!
Good ol’ Howie (CEO) must be thrilled [sarcasm] to see Starbucks workers unionizing in the home base and across the US.
Get involved in unions near you to secure workplace protections and more for yourself, your family, and your neighbors!
👀 Upcoming events
Just so none us get caught off guard, going “oh sh*t” and then rushing over to the nearest store for at least a card, or if anyone grieving needs a reminder to prep and plan for ways to prevent unwanted reminders day-of: Mother’s Day is May 8th.
May Day
AKA International Worker’s Day is on the 1st, and commemorates the labor movement’s struggles and wins.
The origin story:
In the US, May Day was officially made a national holiday after the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, where police violently attacked labor protesters who were on strike to secure a maximum-8-hour work day through a union action at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. [Illinois had already made this law, but employers refused to comply and it wasn’t enforced.] The next day, police again arrived to violently disperse remaining workers and ended up firing at random into a crowd after a makeshift bomb was thrown. Seven police officers were killed and 4-8 additional people were, too, while an extra 30-40 townspeople were injured.
The state prosecuted the “Chicago Eight,” six of which were immigrants, who weren’t even present. They opposed Chicago’s elite, who they believed stood for “starvation of the masses, privileges and luxury for the few.” Five were hung while two received life in prison, and one 15 years in prison. Only two of the three survived through incarceration when the ruling was overturned years later. Ultimately, the public narrative blamed the largest and most successful union organization in America at the time (Knights of Labor, or KOL) for the incident.
2022 May Day Events
- Familias Unidas por la Justicia will march in Mount Vernon
- 350 Seattle and El Comité will march from Judkin’s Park
- The new Labor School in Tacoma will have a May Day BBQ
- Southwest Washington Central Labor Council will commemorate workers in Vancouver, WA
- Latino Community Fund will have a celebratory caravan this Friday in Yakima
👠 Toto, we’re not just “The Tally” anymore
If you aren’t a WCA member, you may have missed a new announcement: We have another newsletter! Are you overwhelmed with parsing through what information to trust when it comes to COVID-19? Then “Endemic” is for you. Subscribe before next week’s edition! “Not so fast,” you say? That’s alright, you’re welcome to check out the first email to test your interest.
What do you think? Have any questions? Tweet us your thoughts @WACommAlliance.
Keep up on the action and opportunities to get involved through our legislative newsletter, The Tally.
