Workers & Immigrants Vigil – Hamilton College News

This is the rainsite. If weather permits, vigil will be held outside Sadove.https://www.facebook.com/events/431126463904161

May 1st is a day for workers and immigrants. May Day has been important for the labor movement, from the national workers strike for the eight-hour day in 1886 onwards. A vigil is a silent protest to raise awareness, often done long into the night. What's the point of a silent protest during the day? Today is a day to put your money where your mouth is.

Don't shop. Don't bank. Don't go to work if you can. Amplify the voices of the hundred of thousands of workers and immigrants on strike. Instead of chanting, speak with your actions and your wallet.

Need another reason for a silent vigil? The words attributed to American labor activist August Spies, in the aftermath of the first May Day strike: "The day will come when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you are throttling today."

We stand with those fighting for a living wage. We stand with the undocumented immigrants who are the backbone of our economy. We stand against deportations. We stand for the would-be legal immigrants who came here for school or a job, who wait for years, who positively impact our society and economy, and who may be denied citizenship and torn away from their communities. We stand with sex workers. We stand with fast-food service workers. We stand with tipped employees. We stand with those working in unsafe environments, physically, mentally, and otherwise. We stand with disabled workers whose inclusion is often overlooked. We stand with LGBTQ+ workersover half the states in our nation do not have workplace protections against firing people for sexual orientation or gender identity. We stand with sexually harassed workers. We stand with workers unable to access de facto protections that exist de jure. We stand with workers for whom those protections are too late and not enough.

We cannot stand for immigrants without recognizing the stolen land we are on. This land is not ours to deny or grant others access to, and we must stand in friendship with this land as much as with all peoples on it. No immigrant strike can be intersectional without embracing decolonialization. We cannot stand for labor without recognizing the stolen (and forced) labor of slaves, who were forcibly migrated, the effects of which are still felt today. We cannot strike for labor without mentioning reparation, what would be debt past due were payment intended plus amends for dehumanization. We cannot stand for labor without mentioning prison labor, a currently legal form of slavery.

We stand with the workers on our own campus who are often overlooked, such as Maintenance and Operations (Physical Plant) staff and Bon Appetite staff. If you need us, we are here to listen and to make your voices heard. We stand for your rights for fair yearly raises; for your rights to an environment free from racist, sexist, agist, and classist discrimination by other community members; for your rights as equal parts of this community.

We stand with the students, faculty, and staff who are immigrants, hope to be immigrants, or come from immigrant families. If you need us, we are here to listen and to make your voices heard. Our community would not be as strong without you. We can support you better in your endeavors to make this home, and to bring enriching elements of your home to our USA-centric campus.

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Workers & Immigrants Vigil - Hamilton College News