The Seattle IWW Endorses the Call for a Decentralized, Anti-Capitalist May Day

The workers of the Seattle General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) are endorsing the call for a decentralized, anti-capitalist May Day. The Wobblies overwhelmingly voted to support this call ahead of International Workers’ Day, a celebration and remembrance of the labor movement, which will take place May 1. We believe that this year’s May Day events should be throughout the city at different times and different locations and hosted by various groups in order to prevent direct repression by the Seattle police and to make disruptions of our events by outside agitators more difficult.

We encourage other groups in the city to follow the example set by numerous other anti-capitalists who are participating in the decentralized May Day.

For too long, workers and activists in this city have congregated in a central location, which has made us easy targets for the Seattle Police Department. This year, fascists and other hate groups from around the city are also planning on disrupting the May Day events. By holding one event in an easily predictable location, we will be putting ourselves at needless risk.

When considering participating in the decentralized event, consider as well that this is an opportunity for many groups to disrupt the daily activities of capitalism. Meeting for one largely symbolic march or event does nothing practical for our anti-capitalist struggle. We should embody the spirit of May Day by holding events across the city that allow us to directly disrupt and oppose capitalism.

We remember that May Day became an international day of remembrance following the Haymarket Affair of 1886, when seven anarchists were executed for having the audacity to protest police brutality against striking workers. We should not make ourselves easy targets for further brutality, but should act according to the needs and goals of our individual organizations to oppose, undermine, and criticize capitalism.