**
Adaptation of Charles H. Kerr translation for The IWW Songbook (34th Edition)
from the original, by: Eugène Pottier, Paris, June, 1871, music by Pierre Degeyter,
1888,
Arise ye pris'ners of starvation
Arise ye wretched of the earth
For justice thunders condemnation
A better world's in birth!
No more tradition's chains shall bind us
Arise, ye slaves, no more in thrall;
The earth shall rise on new foundations
We have been naught we shall be all.
Refrain:
'Tis the final conflict
Let each stand in his place
The International
shall be the human race.
We want no condescending saviors
to rule us from their judgment hall
We workers ask not for their favors
Let us consult for all.
To make the thief disgorge his booty
To free the spirit from its cell
We must ourselves decide our duty
We must decide and do it well.
The law oppresses us and tricks us,
the wage slave system drains our blood;
The rich are free from obligation,
The laws the poor delude.
Too long we've languished in subjection,
Equality has other laws;
"No rights", says she "without their duties,
No claims on equals without cause."
Behold them seated in their glory
The kings of mine and rail and soil!
What have you read in all their story,
But how they plundered toil?
Fruits of the workers' toil are buried
In strongholds of the idle few
In working for their restitution
the men will only claim their due.
We toilers from all fields united
Join hand in hand with all who work;
The earth belongs to us, the workers,
No room here for they who shirk.
How many on our flesh have fattened!
But if the noisome birds of prey
Shall vanish from the sky some morning
The blessed sunlight then will stay.
** L'Internationale
The original lyrics in French, written by: Eugène Pottier, Paris, June
1871 and music by Pierre Degeyter, 1888:
Debout! les damnés de la terre
Debout! les forçats de la faim
La raison tonne en son cratère,
C'est l'éruption de la fin.
Du passé faisons table rase
Foule esclave, debout! debout!
Le monde va changer de base
Nous ne sommes rien, soyons tout!
Refrain
C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/29/may_day_rallies_celebrate_unity_labor
May Day Rallies Celebrate Unity; Labor Unions and Immigrants Plan to March Side by Side
(
Democracy Now: April 29, 2011
The May Day rallies set to take place this Sunday follow massive pro-labor protests in
JUAN GONZALEZ: This Sunday is May Day, May 1st, also known as International Workers’ Day, a holiday that celebrates workers’ rights and the achievements of organized labor, such as the eight-hour workday.
This year’s May Day follows massive protests in
Here in
AMY GOODMAN: We’re also joined via Democracy Now! video stream by Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera in
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Clarence Thomas, you’re in
CLARENCE THOMAS: I’m in
But one of the things that came out of that mobilization was a call by the—for the labor movement to reclaim May Day. So many of our younger members in the trade union movement have very little knowledge about May Day. They associate it with countries overseas celebrating International Workers’ Day, and as was alluded to by Juan earlier in the program, it started here in the
Let me, first of all, say that I’m here today not representing the local. I am speaking as a rank-and-filer. Some of the opinions that I’m expressing are my own. But having said that, it is important to note that the union has a long and storied history around the question of engaging in solidarity actions. In the 1970s and the 1980s, we refused to handle cargo that was destined to
JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, and how have you been able to have these, in essence, political work stoppages that are almost unheard of anywhere else in the country?
CLARENCE THOMAS: Well, in some instances, what has happened is that the union has been able to have its union meeting dates changed. And for one shift out of a month, we have a union meeting, and it stops all work in our port. In this particular instance, it was completely voluntary, which means that we did not have a change in our work meeting date. Workers voluntarily decided not to go to work in response to the attacks on the public sector workers in
It’s also important to note that on the 4th of April—that is the anniversary of the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Six months before his assassination, he spoke at Local 10. The occasion was a seven-city fundraising tour, headlined by Harry Belafonte and Joan Baez, for the purpose of raising money for SCLC. He spoke on that day, and—
AMY GOODMAN: Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
CLARENCE THOMAS: Yeah, Southern Christian Leadership Conference. September 21st, 1967, six months before his assassination, he became an honorary member of Local 10. So there are deep roots with respect to Dr. King, his legacy, and the action taken on April 4th.
AMY GOODMAN: And you are being sued now.
CLARENCE THOMAS: We are being sued. The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping companies, terminal operators and stevedoring companies, is suing the union because they want to stop such further solidarity actions from taking place. And I think it’s important for your viewership to understand this: one of the reasons that we don’t see more solidarity action coming from unions is the threat of the employer for lawsuits, secondary boycotts and so forth. This is a means of intimidating the rank and file. We believe that, in light of these attacks on the working class, that the rank and file must have rank-and-file unity. And we believe that solidarity is not an empty slogan. Solidarity means making a sacrifice. And on April 4th, our members did not go to work. We did not get paid. And for 24 hours, international commerce was shut down. And we believe that more unions need to do the same.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And just to make clear, because you represent all the workers in the port, the white-collar workers as well as the blue-collar workers. In essence, when you stop, all of the importing into the Bay Area of California is shut down.
CLARENCE THOMAS:
JUAN GONZALEZ: And what’s been the reaction of your international to the activities of the local? Has there been any friction there?
CLARENCE THOMAS: Well, that’s a very good question, because the way that we got started with this action was that the AFL-CIO executive committee made a decision that it was going to adopt a resolution calling for no business as usual on April 4th. And we received a memo from our international president, who sits on that committee, Bob McElrath, letting all of the ILW affiliates know that we were to mobilize in our own way. Now, we have autonomy with all—all of our locals have autonomy. But we have historically not relied on the international to give us direction as to which way we should mobilize, because, after all, this is the local of the legendary Harry Bridges.
JUAN GONZALEZ: We’re also joined by Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera in
CHRISTINE NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Well, we’re very excited because the level of collaboration and—what we anticipate—we already know because of the level of interest in organizing—is going to be unprecedented, in terms of the rank-and-file union members and the Latino and immigrant community, which has, since 2006, every year, mobilized in the tens of thousands. And each year has always been supported by labor and has had a greater diversity each and every year. But this year, because of the attacks on public employees, like teachers, we know that, you know, there’s a level of support and mutual support. And that’s really what is historic about this march, is these movements coming together at a scale that hasn’t been seen before.
AMY GOODMAN: Christine, it’s also significant we’re talking to you in
CHRISTINE NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Well, we—from the very get-go, as a worker rights organization, we were very involved in supporting and sending buses on a daily basis to the capital to defend Governor Walker’s attack on collective bargaining rights. And, you know, right now what’s being followed with the budget is also an attack on immigrant rights and poor people.
In terms of immigrant rights, one of the biggest threats that’s pending, you know, in the budget is the repeal of in-state tuition rights for immigrant youth that was won in 2009, as well as the institutionalization of discrimination against legal immigrants, low-income families that would be denied access to food stamps or healthcare because they’re non-U.S. citizens, as part of this broader attack on poor people’s access and privatization of the public sector, like public education and so forth.
But one of the biggest things that’s motivating the Latino and immigrant community as part of this broader platform that we have is that there’s a pending
And this will—we’ve had mass meetings with Latino immigrants for, you know, three Sundays in a row, with close to a thousand people who’ve unanimously voted to walk off their job, if need be, if this bill were actually to start moving forward in the legislative process in the same way that we saw the collective—the attack—the bill that took away collective bargaining rights start to move. So, there is a level of support in organizing that’s been seen. But this will be our first public action in terms of sending a message to Governor Walker that we don’t want an
JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, Christine, I’d like to bring Clarence Thomas back in on this whole issue of how the immigrant rights movement has in essence resuscitated May Day and now is building closer ties with the organized labor movement. You mentioned Harry Bridges before.
CLARENCE THOMAS: Yes.
JUAN GONZALEZ: He was an Australian immigrant, a radical labor leader in this country. Here in New York City, the most—perhaps the most militant union, the Transport Workers Union, was organized by an immigrant, Mike Quill, and then later led by another immigrant worker, Roger Toussaint, that—the importance of how immigrants have continually renewed the radicalism and the fighting capacity of the American labor movement?
CLARENCE THOMAS: Well, first of all, they are the most exploited sector of the trade union movement. And as such, the issues that they face have to do with the fundamental rights of workers. When we look at the aftermath of what happened with the Great American Boycott—believe that late in 2006—
JUAN GONZALEZ: Six, mm-hmm.
CLARENCE THOMAS: Yes, well, the repression that took place with ICE breaking up families, the intimidation factor—when you talk about Harry Bridges, for 21 years he faced the courts for denaturalization hearings four times. He was alleged to be a member of the Communist Party. He was—he was vindicated. He always said that "95 percent of what they were saying about me was true." But he wasn’t a member of the party.
But the point of it is, is this. The trade—the labor movement is very small, when you talk about the percentage of workers that are represented by a union. The overwhelming majority of workers don’t belong to a union, so that the labor movement has the responsibility for charting a course for all workers. That’s why it’s so important that this year that we’re going to have a united May Day action. May Day has been reclaimed by the American labor movement, and we’re proud to see that happen.
I just want to make one quick announcement. We will be assembling on Sunday at 11:30 at
AMY GOODMAN: And just an interesting point: isn’t it true Labor Day was
CLARENCE THOMAS: Absolutely, Amy, and I’m glad that you brought that up, because Labor Day has no historical significance at all, and it was an effort to break up the international labor solidarity for the American working class.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we’re going to leave it there. I want to thank you very much, Clarence Thomas, for joining us, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10. As you say, the real Clarence Thomas. And Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, joining us from
CLARENCE THOMAS: Thank you for having me.
AMY GOODMAN: Thank you so much. By the way, do you—are you able to just walk right into the Supreme Court when you want?
CLARENCE THOMAS: I may be able to do it now, after being on Democracy Now!
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. When we come back, we’re going to talk about Bradley Manning. Where is he now? We’ll be joined by Glenn Greenwald. Stay with us.
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