APRIL 28th
Grand Rapids, MI - For the last 2 years the closest Saturday to May 1st Martin Luther King Jr. Park, in Grand Rapids, has been reserved for a community celebration. Hundreds of people from the community have come to the park for food, entertainment, and resources to organize for a better Grand Rapids and society. This year the celebration will take place April 28th at Martin Luther King Jr. Park from 12 noon to 8 pm. There will be a diverse group of acts from solo to rap to rock and local poets performing. There will continue to be a community potluck from 12-2 and food provided by Food Not Bombs and Bartertown Diner. As well, members of Stop Targeting Our Kids (STOK) will continue to provide some activities for children such as face painting and other artistic expression projects. This year will also see another Really, Really Free Market at the park where people can give and take items at no cost. Speakers and resources will be available on issues such as lgbt rights, immigrant rights, workplace organizing, and more.
International Workers Day May 1 (May Day) is a holiday celebrated around the world in remembrance of the Haymarket Martyrs and the fight for the 8 hour day. The origins of International Workers’ Day go back to 1886. When hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States went on strike. In Grand Rapids, 7,000 furniture workers of the Knights of Labor left their workplaces for an impromptu march . Workers demanded that their 10- and 12-hour work days be shortened to an 8-hour day with no reduction in pay. Over the next few years, thousands of workers won the 8-hour workday that many of us still enjoy today.
Gaining prominence in recent years for organizing Starbucks workers, the Industrial Workers of the World is a global union founded over a century ago for all working people.
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http://grsbuxunion.blogspot.
http://www.facebook.com/griww
If your a poet or a musical act and would like to perform contact us at: griww@iww.org or 616-881-5263
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