Happy Labour Day

The Harvesters, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565

"The power to dream, to rule
To wrestle the earth from fools
But it's decreed the people rule
But it's decreed the people rule

Listen, I believe everythin' we dream
Can come to pass through our union
We can turn the world around
We can turn the earth's revolution

We have the power
People have the power
People have the power
People have the power."

From: People Have The Power by Patti Smith

Not Buying Valentines Day or Slave Chocolate

I'm all about love. The world would be a better place if we had more of it. Valentines day however, is a sick scam that launches a full frontal assault on amorous couples looking to score some points on this 'special day'.

If the goal was to spread love 365 days a year, that would be cool. But it is not. The goal is to get money out of your pocket, plain and simple. And the pressure to spend is great. In many places it has become a cultural expectation or obligation to spend on loved ones.

Everyone, including grade school children, are expected to invest in a little love, and do so unquestioningly.

And what is the main way to "show your love" besides cheesy will-you-be-mine cards? Giving a gift of chocolate made by child and slave labour is quite popular.


"Children are doing dirty, dangerous, and degrading work in the chocolate industry,” says Cheryl Hotchkiss, manager of World Vision’s End Child Slavery campaign. “They get hurt swinging machetes to cut down cacao pods. They get sick from pesticides and toil in extreme heat with little pay, poor nutrition, and no health care. They’re separated from their families and can even be abused by employers.”

Approximately 2 million children, some as young as 8 years old, are involved in cacao farming worldwide, the majority in West Africa.

95% of the chocolate consumed in the world is not certified and will soil your hands in more ways than one if you choose to buy it along with the thinly veiled marketing love fest that we know as V-day.

Here are some things you can do to ensure that your chocolate isn't tainted by child and slave labour, or toxic processes.

Getting Rid of Dirty Chocolate

1. Look for chocolate with labels such as the Fair Trade label and the IMO Fair for Life label.

2. Contact the big chocolate companies like Hershey’s - tell them you expect them to prove their chocolate is not tainted by child labor and slave labor.

3. Contact your elected officials. If big chocolate can’t monitor their own supply chains, we need to go back to the drawing board and demand laws that prevent slave-produced chocolate from hitting the shelves of stores.

The people who produce the raw materials for our chocolate treats deserve fair wages and safe working conditions. African children shouldn’t have to suffer unspeakable horrors just so we can enjoy a treat.

Buy fair trade/organic chocolate, then indulge in a bit to celebrate limitlessly loving every single day of the year.

Find ethical chocolate where you live on the ChocoFinder website.

Labour Day Monday

Workers of the world unite

Also brought to you by the labour movement:

• child labour laws
• 8 hour work days
• 5 day work week
• holidays
• unemployment insurance
• pensions
• legislation prohibiting discrimination by employers or unions on the basis of race, national origin, color, religion or gender.
• minimum wage
• overtime
• legislation covering safety in the workplace

MAYDAY!

May Day was a traditional late spring/early summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. Today the pagan celebration has been supplanted by labor traditions that have been observed since the 1800s in many countries.

The following is a widespread brief history of the labour aspect of May Day in North America:

In 1884, unions declared that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s work from and after May 1, 1886. When workers went on strike at a factory in Chicago on May 3, 1886, police fired into the peacefully assembled crowd, killing four and wounding many others.

The workers movement called for a mass rally the next day in Haymarket Square to protest this brutality. The rally proceeded peacefully until the end when 180 police officers entered the square and ordered the crowd to disperse. At that point, someone threw a bomb, killing one police officer and wounding 70 others. The police responded by firing into the crowd, killing one and injuring many others.

Eight of the city’s most active unionists were charged with conspiracy to commit murder even though only one present at the meeting was on the speakers’ platform. All eight were found guilty and sentenced to death, despite a lack of evidence connecting them to the person who threw the bomb.

Four were hanged on November 11, 1887, Louis Lingg committed suicide in prison, and the remaining three were finally pardoned in 1893. Lucy Parsons, the widow of Albert Parsons, traveled the world urging workers to celebrate May Day and to remember the events of Haymarket and the subsequent government-sponsored murder of those fighting for the rights of all workers.

Over time, May Day grew to become an important day for organizing and unifying the international struggle of workers and their allies. 

Exploitation of workers and the environment is not sustainable. Observing the labour aspect of May Day sends a strong message to rapacious governments and their corporate allies:

If you exploit us, we will shut you down, and if we don't, the environment will.