I'm back to 3 day working weekends, long brutal days, so weekend posts will tend to be on Monday or Tuesday...lol Last week saw plenty of wet heavy #snow#rain and some #sunshine #Flowers are coming along anyway mostly in the garden + wild catkins and first wildflower (not shown here, yet) -this week: cool/rain then mid-20sC! #SixOnSaturday#Alberta#MayDay🌱🌿❄️📷#garden
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By Andrew Curry, originally published by thenextwave May 1, 2024
"...The Red and Green May Days can be described in ways that create the kinds of opposites that narratologists get excited by:
Green is a relationship to the earth & what grows there-from. Red is a relationship to other people & the blood spilt there among. Green designates life with only necessary labor; Red designates death with surplus labor. Green is natural appropriation; Red is social expropriation. Green is husbandry & nurturance; Red is proletarianization & prostitution. Green is useful activity; Red is useless toil. Green is creation of desire; Red is class struggle. May Day is both.
The Red May Day has its roots, in particular, in the bloody history of the American labour movement, and in particular in the city of Chicago, which in the late 19th century was an epicentre of both industrialisation & globalisation..."
I rallied with fellow workers yesterday for #MayDay
Baristas, librarians, public defenders and auto workers shared their stories of organizing their workplaces, going out on strike and winning better working conditions and benefits.
Another theme was solidarity with the Palestinian people and the power of unions to stop business as usual to put an end to US support for the attack on Gaza and the occupation.
"If a worker scans the QR code and clicks the link, Amazon’s software automatically generates a letter from the worker and then emails it to the trade union, ending their membership."
The innovation will continue until morale improves :goose_bonk:
[This from the very excellent Foxglove Legal's latest newsletter. Foxglove aren't on Fedi (yet?), but are on the web at https://www.foxglove.org.uk]
Here, you see, are two kinds of work - one good, the other bad; one not far removed from a blessing, a lightening of life; the other a mere curse, a burden to life.
What is the difference between them, then? This: one has hope in it, the other has not...
worthy work carries with it the hope of pleasure in rest, the hope of pleasure in our using what it makes, and the hope of pleasure in our daily creative skill.
All other work but this is worthless; it is slaves' work - mere toiling to live, that we may live to toil.
From the Workers Circle:
This May Day, champion workers' rights by urging your Members of Congress to support the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
Ensuring the right to organize and bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions is vital for a fair and inclusive economy. But corporate-friendly laws in the United States have reduced worker power. The PRO Act fights back.
Among its provisions, the PRO Act would broaden the scope of workers covered by national fair labor standards and prohibit the replacement or discrimination of workers who participate in strikes. The PRO Act would also establish penalties and injunctive relief against entities that fail to comply with National Labor Relation Board orders. It puts real enforcement power behind workers' rights.
Join me in urging Congress to take action on the PRO Act this May Day.
Original box I bought in '81, we had been playing since '79, though I waited to get the upadeted rules. Dice might be original, or might be from Squad Leader. #TravellerRPG#MayDay
Today, the new minimum wage of $17.28 in my city of Bellingham, WA goes into effect.
Compared to some other cities in the US, this may sound high. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 (since 2009).
Unfortunately, experts have calculated Bellingham's "living wage" closer to $23.52 for an individual and $29.97 for a family of four with two working parents.
According to Redfin, "In March 2024, Bellingham home prices were up 12.2% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $685K."
Average rent for an apartment is $1,863, and average rent for a house is $2,891.
Whatcom County, where Bellingham is located, recorded a 27% jump in unhoused people in 2023 (the most recent data), the highest increase since the point in time survey began in 2008.