For info contact: maydaykingston [at] riseup [dot] net
May Day March and Free BBQ!
May 1st, 2014
12pm: BBQ, Skeleton Park
1pm: March Downtown
On May 1st, 1886, 40,000 workers in Chicago–and half a million across the United States–participated in a three-day general strike demanding an eight-hour work day. A week-long struggle resulted between protesters and police, and ultimately eight protesters were arrested, convicted without evidence, and executed. Their executions are widely regarded as some of the most overt political assassinations of radicals in North America, and May 1st has since been marked as International Workers Day in their honour. Since 2006, May Day has also been widely marked as a day to protest racist immigration policies in Canada and the United States and demand status for all. Strikes, pickets and protests take place around the world on May 1st to honour and celebrate the struggles of workers, immigrants, and poor people all over.
In Kingston, we are gathering for May Day for the fifth consecutive year. If you can get away with it, skip school or ditch work…or better yet, walk out or go on strike! Join us at noon for a free BBQ in Skeleton Park followed by a spirited march downtown. Come hungry and bring your neighbours, co-workers, classmates and friends!