While International Workers' Day ( May 1st) is celebrated worldwide, it was a bit disappointing to witness how few even noticed it here in New York. Perhaps the soggy weather played a role. Perhaps Bernie Sanders' recent primary loss here left many supporters of such ideas discouraged and drained. Or perhaps, New York, literally a mecca to Capitalism, has such a stranglehold on its working class, no matter how many showed up to support efforts to raise international standards of labor, life for labor in New York and most of the United States will continue to lag behind the rest of the industrialized world.
One would think, with the cost of living rising in New York City by the minute, people struggling to survive on the pittance they're paid for their hard and thankless labor, there'd be burning tires, rock and bottle throwing, broken windows and slashed tires, along with tear-gas, water canons and mass arrest, as the NYPD responded to the civil unrest. One would think news reporters would've been seen on camera screaming over loud crowds chanting anti-capitalist rhetoric while documenting excessive force used by the police. Well, one would think.
Yet in a city like New York, where one could successfully argue it actually thrives on income inequality, where workers are some of the most exploited people in the country when considering the untold numbers of undocumented workers hiding in plain sight, not a God Damn Peep. And as quietly as the real story is being kept, that too may be a problem. Despite Donald Trump and the GOP always pointing to Mexico as the root of all "illegals", open-eyed New Yorkers see "illegals" from every corner of the world, living, working and going to schools here everyday.
The fact that nobody seems to bother them too much means these people are welcome as long they work hard, work cheap, stay out of trouble and keep their mouths shut about stuff like workers rights. You got people flying in over the borders hourly without the slightest intentions of returning from whence they came. From the Caribbean, to all parts of Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and anywhere else you can imagine, people are slipping in and building a life under the radar. Forced to live on the down-low, these people aren't the types to get arrested for demonstrating against low wages, poor working conditions or anything else for that matter.
Now please don't misunderstand, we have no problems with people making moves around the world in order to better their lives. In fact, a lot of Americans may be considering similar moves themselves, albeit for different reasons. In fact we recommend it. However, one should be mindful to work toward an international standard of living and an international minimum wage to insure one isn't jumping out of the frying pan into the fire when they do make that move. Labor exploitation is a global issue and it has to be addressed as such. And in doing so, need only remember, Capitalism is the world's foremost socioeconomic model in dividing and conquering labor.
Bottom line: When you get right down to it, one shouldn't be too surprised to see a mere couple of hundred supporters gather to make a statement on International Workers' Day in New York City the very heart and soul of Capitalism. So, aside from a very peaceful get together in Union Square for a few speeches, that eventually led to a very orderly march to Washington Square Park, for a few more speeches, at the end of the day, the cops earned some easy overtime pay, the taxpayers picked up the cost and those who profit from pitting one low wage earner against another are already back to business as usual in the big city this morning. Podcast below!
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