Dear Sisters and Brothers,
This is a final reminder that the International Workers Day/ Day Without Immigrants Rally will be held tomorrow, Monday, May 1, 2017, 5:30-8:00  pm, at Guadalupe Plaza, 2311 Runnels Street, in Houston. This event will highlight the historic achievements and contemporary struggles of workers of all nationalities and also emphasize the imperative need for solidarity with our immigrant sisters and brothers, who are increasingly under attack. Working class, this is your cause! Join us!
The Rally will include some very special guest speakers, speakers from sponsoring organizations, poets/spoken word artists, music, banners and signs, chants, and the dramatic smashing of a Donald Trump piñata. This event is being organized by and for workers, whose labor makes life, society, and aspirations for a better future possible. Workers of all backgrounds are welcome. There will be no government officials or politicians on the platform.
Together, we will demand: Unite against Trump! Stop the deportations! Stop racist police terror! Black and Brown lives matter! Defend the Muslim community! Stop the attacks on women and the LGBT communities! Fight for $15/hour minimum wage, jobs for all, and the right to a union! Housing, health care, education, and retirement security for all! Stop the rise of fascism! End U.S. imperialist wars! Stop the destruction of Mother Earth! End capitalism before it ends us!
The Rally is part of a much larger set of actions across the country. A national coalition has called for a strike on May 1, and we encourage workers not to go to work, not to go to school, and not to go shopping tomorrow. In addition, a four-day boycott of Walmart will run through tomorrow, and there is an ongoing boycott of Wells Fargo over its role in the DAPL. We strongly support these actions, and we hope you will, too.
This Rally is being sponsored by Asamblea Popular de Houston, Brown Berets de TejAztlan, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Houston Communist Party, Houston Socialist Movement, International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran-Canada, International Socialist Organization, Latinos Inmigrantes Triunfadores, MORENA-Houston SW, Organizacion Latino Americana Pro-Derecho Del Inmigrante, Party for Socialism and Liberation, People’s New Black Panther Party, and Students for a Democratic Society. We also look forward to the participation of many other organizations.
Parking will be available in the section of the Talento Bilingue Houston parking lot adjacent to South Jensen Street (not the rest of the TBH parking lot) and in the FiTMiX Yoga and Latin Fitness Studio parking lot at 2311 Canal Street. Restrooms will be available in TBH. If you would like more information or have any last-minute questions, please call us at 832.692.2306, 713.447.4106, 832.660.3084, or 281.935.9248.
In Solidarity,
HSM
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
This is a reminder that there will be a spirited protest against Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday, April 18, beginning at 11:00 am, at the Hilton Americas Hotel on 1600 Lamar Street. Abbott will be addressing the Greater Houston Partnership. We are going to show him what we think of his right-wing policies. The Facebook event page is at
https://www.facebook.com/events/1814469988804957/.
Since becoming Governor in 2015, Greg Abbott has proved to be an enemy of workers, people of color, immigrants, women, LGBT communities, and the differently abled. As Attorney General and Governor, Abbott backed the racially discriminatory Texas voter ID law that was later gutted by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Abbott opposes women’s reproductive freedom–even in cases of rape and incest–and he backed the Texas law imposing proh
ibitive restrictions on abortion providers that was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, Abbott supports SB 4, which aims to punish cities, counties, and higher education institutions which do not aid and abet repression against undocumented immigrants. Abbott also supports SB 13, which would prohibit payroll deductions for union dues for most public employees, and other reactionary legislation.Â
This demonstration is being organized by Houston Communist Party, Houston Socialist Movement, International Socialist Organization, Latinos Inmigrantes Triunfadores, MORENA-Houston SW, Organizacion Latino Americano Pro-Derecho Del Inmigrante, and Party for Socialism and Liberation. For more information, call 832.692.2306 or 713.447.4106.
The Harris County Democrats will also be protesting against Abbott. They contacted us weeks ago to discuss a possible combined action but then obtained a street closure permit exclusively for themselves. We will be there anyway, and our voices will be loud and strong. Only the masses of workers and oppressed people–not the Democrats or any other pro-business party–can bring about the fundamental social change we need.
Please also note that local neo-Nazi Ken Reed has called for a counter-demonstration against HSM at the same time and location. Reed says he isn’t really a “fanboy” of Abbott but “really despises” HSM, so the “American Patriot Vanguard” promises to be there. We sure hope so. It isn’t every day that we get to demonstrate against right-wing conservatives like Abbott and fascists like Reed at the same time! Although we do not expect any problems, Houston Jail Support will be available during the action. Contact us if you would like their phone number.
In Solidarity,
HSM
