MEDIA ADVISORY
Monday, April 26, 2021
May Day March and Rally Celebrates International Workers Day
“Get Up, Get Down, There’s a Workers’ Movement in this Town!”
WHAT: The Hawaii Workers Center, UNITE HERE Local 5 hotel workers union, and
other member organizations of the Coalition to Defend and Respect Hawaii’s
Workers are sponsoring a May Day march and rally in Kalihi, Oahu to celebrate
International Workers Day and the one-year anniversary of the launching of the
Hawaii Workers Center. The theme of the march is “Get Up, Get Down, There’s
a Workers’ Movement in this Town!”
The rally will include speakers from participating organizations plus a few
presentations on the history of May Day and the major workers’ strikes and
struggles that have improved living and working conditions in the islands.
The Center and its Coalition co-sponsors are also celebrating and strengthening
their efforts over the past year to defend and support Hawaii’s workers, especially the unemployed who are still being deprived of assistance from a shut-off and unresponsive state labor department and their UI benefits taxed by the state if and when they do finally receive them.
WHO: Coalition representatives from UNITE HERE Local 5, Living Wage Hawaii,
Hawaii
Nurses Association, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, Faith Action, Young
Progressives Demanding Action, Pono Hawaii Initiative, Anakbayan Hawaii,
Hawaii Scholars for Education & Social Justice, Hawaii State Teachers Staff
Organization (HSTO), Academic Labor United, Thriving University for a Thriving
Hawaii (TUTH), Hawaii Peoples Fund, and the Hawaii Workers Center.
WHEN: Saturday, May 1
TIME: March begins 10:00 a.m. and the rally starts at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: The participants, with face masks and practicing social distancing, will gather at
9:30 a.m. at the Kalihi District Park at 1911 Kam IV Road and begin a march at
10:00 a.m. from there to the Towers at Kuhio Park Resource Center, just off
School Street at 1485 Linapuni St., where a rally will be held beginning around
11:00 a.m.
WHY: Coalition organizers of the May 1 March and Rally issued this statement:
Organized workers have fought and won significant rights since May 1st
was first celebrated in 1890, however there is much yet to be done. We
have united and worked together to fight for workers’ rights to
unemployment benefits, union representation, job security, recall to work,
freedom from forced overtime, and a living wage. All this had to be done during a global pandemic which did the greatest harm to Hawaii’s low-
wage and immigrant workers.
The state legislature, especially the state House of Representatives, and
the Ige administration have remained deaf to the pleas and needs of
workers, and their indifference will be remembered. We vow to continue
expanding and strengthening the workers’ movement in times ahead.
This is essential to achieving a more just, sustainable, and equitable
Hawaii.
The organizers note that May 1 is celebrated as International Workers Day
and a holiday in 90 countries around the globe. Marches and events are
held on May 1 to commemorate and advance the struggles of workers and
to acknowledge their contribution to society. The day was proclaimed in
1890 to commemorate the struggle of U.S. workers for the 8-hour
workday.
Media Contact:
Rev. Sam Domingo, 808-384-8701
John Witeck, 808-347-3306
Sergio Alcubilla, 808-371-4805
The Hawaii Workers Center (HWC), a Coalition member, is a non-profit resource and
organizing center serving unemployed and low-wage workers and immigrants. Visit HWC’s
website at www.hawaiiworkerscenter.org or email us at hiworkerscenter@gmail.com.