05 May 2023
Older Americans Month Begins with May Day
Monday, May 1, was not only the first day of Older Americans Month, it was also May Day (International Workers’ Day). Throughout May, Alliance members across the country celebrate the contributions of older people to the nation and use the occasion to recognize the power of older adults to influence our communities. President Biden has issued a proclamation in honor of Older Americans Month.
May Day is a time to celebrate all workers and the efforts of unions and the labor movement. It is also a day of remembrance as it honors the workers who died during the 1886 Haymarket bombing in Chicago while protesting an eight-hour workday.
Texas Alliance (TARA) members, Young Active Labor Leaders and other activists celebrated the day by picketing Starbucks stores in the Dallas metropolitan area. Their banners called for higher wages, the freedom to join a union and other workers’ rights.
TARA members pioneered the “flying picket” tactic at a number of Starbucks, going from store to store and quietly handing out leaflets to employees and customers before picketing the outside sidewalk.
“International Workers’ Day is an opportunity to promote the change we need,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “Legislatively, the best thing we can do as a nation in partnership with local action is to urge Congress to pass the PRO Act, introduced by Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) in the House of U.S. Representatives as HR 20 and by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the Senate as S. 567. It will make it easier to join or form a union, and that means better wages, health care, pensions, and retirement security. ”.