Monday April 4, 2011
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Room 72 LIB, Ryerson University
350 Victoria Street,
Toronto
FWD: Up Against the Temp Shop: May Day Assembly on Immigrant Rights with Ai-Jen Poo (Domestic Workers’ Alliance, USA), Lee Maracle, David McNally & Farrah Miranda – facilitated by organizers from Workers Action Centre, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, Justice for Migrant Workers, Caregivers Action Centre and No One Is Illegal – Toronto On April 4th, join the May Day Assembly on Immigrant Rights with Ai-Jen Poo, National Co-Chair of Domestic Workers Alliance, New York City.
Migrant Justice organizers across Turtle Island have fought to create workplace protections, benefits, access to services, and full status for undocumented and precarious status workers. On April 4th, join us to continue this struggle. In the face of cutbacks, privatization, and forced displacement around the globe, and anti-immigrant policies in Canada, we continue to build a community-labour vision to ensure that the rights of the most vulnerable and precarious members of the working class continue to be fore-fronted during May Day, and within all struggles for justice.
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AI-JEN POO has been organizing immigrant women workers in New York since 1996. She was the Lead Organizer for Domestic Workers United (DWU), an organization of nannies, housekeepers and elderly caregivers in New York organizing for power, respect, fair labor standards and to help build a movement to end oppression for all. In July 2010 Domestic Workers United won the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights that guarantees basic work standards and protections for nannies, caregivers, and housekeepers. DWU helped to organize the first national meeting of domestic workers organizations at the US Social Forum in 2007, which resulted in the formation of the National Domestic Workers Alliance of which Ai-Jen is now National Co-Chair. Ai-jen also serves on the Board of New York Jobs with Justice, Social Justice Leadership, the Labor Advisory Board at Cornell ILR School and the Coordinating Committee of Grassroots Global Justice.
LEE MARACLE is a Sto:Loh nation, grandmother of four, mother of four was born in North Vancouver, BC and now resides in Innisfil, Ontario. Her works include: the novels, Ravensong, Bobbi Lee, Sundogs, short story collection, Sojourner’s Truth, poetry collection, Bentbox, and non-fiction work I Am Woman. She is Co-editor of My Home As I Remember and Telling It: Women and Language Across Cultures, editor of a number of poetry works, Gatherings journals and has published in dozens of anthologies in Canada and America. Ms. Maracle is a both an award winning author and teacher. She currently is Mentor for Aboriginal Students at University of Toronto where she also is a teacher and also the Traditional Cultural Director for the Indigenous Theatre School, where she is a part-time cultural instructor.
DAVID MCNALLY teaches political science at York University Toronto and actively supports numerous social justice movements in that city. David is the author of six books: Political Economy and the Rise of Capitalism (1988); Against the Market: Political Economy Market Socialism and the Marxist Critique (1993); Bodies of Meaning: Studies on Language, Labor and Liberation (2001); Another World is Possible: Globalization and Anti-Capitalism (2002; second revised edition 2006); Global Slump: The Economics and Politics of Crisis and Resistance (2010) and Monsters of the Market: Zombies, Vampires and Global Capitalism(forthcoming 2011). David’s research interests include the theory and practice of democracy, Marxism and anti-racism, socialist-feminism, classical and Marxian political economy, Hegel and dialectical social theory, and the history of anti-capitalist movements.
FARRAH MIRANDA is an immigrant rights and feminist organizer in Toronto who has organized against regressive immigration and security policies since 2002. Prior to joining No One Is Illegal – Toronto, Farrah organized high-school walkouts against Mike Harris’s policies in 1999 and was part of Project Threadbare, a grassroots coalition of activists formed after the August 2003 arrests of 19 Pakistani men arrested on National Security grounds. Farrah has been part of No One Is Illegal – Toronto’s successful campaigns to push immigration enforcement out of Toronto district schools and organized and won the removal of immigration enforcement from GTA anti-violence against women agencies. Though this policy was eventually reneged, Farrah continues to be part of No One Is Illegal – Toronto campaigns to build a sanctuary city with full social services for all people irrespective of immigration status and the fight for permanent status on landing for immigrant workers and full regularization for undocumented people in the country.
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On May 1, No One Is Illegal – Toronto and community and labor allies are organizing the 6th annual May Day demonstration for migrant justice and status for all. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131496730256133
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Supported by: Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, OPSEU Workers of Color,
CAW Sam Gindin Chair for Social Justice, OPIRG UT, Greater Toronto Workers
Assembly, Socialist Project, New Socialist Group, Justice for Migrant Workers,
Latin American Trade Union Coalition, Good Jobs for All.
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