by Gerye Proletari

(April 27, 2015)

May Day is coming upon us! Known as International Workers Day around the world, it’s a historic day commemorating the struggles of the international working class, and to honor the autonomous workers of Haymarket Chicago who were viciously terrorized and murdered by the bourgeoisie and its repressive forces as they were organizing for an 8-hour day and better working conditions.

In their brutality, the capitalists and their forces fired live rounds into crowds full of workers, their families and children. May 4, 1886 was the culmination of struggles, marked by another bloody massacre and arrests of labor leaders who were subsequently hung, committed suicide or faced prison sentences.

The working classes of the world refused to let these events fade into a forgotten history, and every year hold parades and marches commemorating the memory of workers and their struggles against the capitalists. In the US, we have been betrayed by the capitalist unions—to the extent that the bourgeoisie invented “labor day” as a holiday months after International Workers Day. More recently, bourgeois unions and NGOs have started orchestrating their own reformist May Day demonstrations financed by capitalists (by one faction or another—remember, they have their own contradictions). Though they might use fiery language and invoke serious issues affecting the working class and the masses (like attacks on immigrants and police brutality), they make sure to channel the rage into demands for a nicer-appearing capitalism, like they always do.

The capitalists are heading to a literal dead end. Their unions and NGOs are trying everything they can to mitigate their crises and provide fake “alternatives” to derail the worker’s struggle, sometimes even experimenting with new forms of capital accumulation.

If it wasn’t for the long history of workers’ struggles, the bourgeoisie would have us slaving all day to fill their fucking pockets like we used to, and as many around the world still do! They have led us for long enough! It’s time for the international working class to take leadership away from the capitalists and opportunists! Time for the proletariat to pick up its historical task and lead all the popular masses out of this wretched world system and mode of production!

Let’s organize autonomously, in our own organizations that are not provided to us by this monstrosity killing the world. We don’t get paychecks to fight; we fight because of our desire for liberation, for freedom and the abolishing of classes. Sick of all this misery, we fight for ourselves, our children and this beautiful planet.

And let us never forget all those who gave their lives fighting for a better world. This May Day, let’s carry on their struggles, our struggles to defeat the capitalist parasites, and KILL CAPITALISM!!!