May Day Labour Day Holiday in Greece Moved to 7 May to Help Struggling Store Owners

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The Labour Ministry agreed that the May Day Labour Day holiday would be on Tuesday, 7 May. The change came after a request by store owners, who feared that they’d lose vital business if May Day were on 1 May, which is also the Wednesday before Orthodox Easter. Traders hope that they’d see an upturn in the number of customers visiting their shops ahead of the Easter holidays. Therefore, the holiday would be on a day when stores would close anyway, due to the Easter break. Only businesses that work on Sundays or during public holidays would be able to operate normally on 7 May.

8 April 2013

Kathimerini

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_08/04/2013_492490

US Educators Not Respected

Note well that those who demand that workers accept sub-standard wages, nasty conditions, and minimal benefits all have above-average incomes, spend more time on holiday than the workers do, and hide their income in “tax shelters” (both legit and covert), raising the tax burden on all the rest of us… I find that disgusting and evil… and offensive in the sight of Almighty God. By the way, I’ve no need for your “Jayzuss” or his “salvation”… he has no relation to Our Lord Christ and His Church.

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Chicago’s teachers have reached the end of their rope in negotiating with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, so, for the first time in 25 years, they’ve been forced to go on strike. The Chicago Teacher’s Union (CTU) announcement that they were going on strike Monday morning didn’t please Mayor Emanuel, whom many see as a tool of the special interests and the very rich. On Sunday night, after months of failed negotiations, Chicago Teacher’s Union President Karen Lewis said, “Negotiations have been intense but productive, however, we’ve failed to reach an agreement to prevent a strike”.

As the Occupy Movement becomes more organised and the people more oppressed, and, at the same time, less fearful as conditions grow worse, they see that they’ve nothing to lose. In May, just before the NATO Summit and timed to coincide with May Day celebrations, Occupy Chicago and over 75 other protest groups banded together to protest numerous problems, including school closures and low teacher salaries. Of course, due to the nature of May Day, one of the chief issues was worker’s rights. Several Chicago-area Unions took part in the demonstrations; they not only wanted to bring attention to key issues, but they had to fight for the very right to stay alive and continue to exist.

Back in May, I spoke to Rachael Perrotta, an activist with Occupy Chicago and a member of the Occupy Chicago Press Team. She said that Chicago has a serious problem with school closures and money budgeted for education goes for things like the NATO Summit instead. In May, Rachael also spoke to NBC News, saying, “What we’re seeking to do as Occupy is to become the glue that can bring all of these causes together, creating a gigantic coalition that can begin the hard work of fixing this country”. She meant that the Occupy Movement could bring worker’s groups and unions together under one umbrella.

I can say one thing, having spent part of my childhood as a pupil in the Chicago Unified School District, conditions must be extremely bad if Chicago’s teachers decided to go on strike. Chicago has some of the toughest schools and some of the toughest kids in America. The teachers in Chicago are some of the toughest in the country, and they put up with conditions that are bad to begin with. If they’ve been pushed so far as to strike, things must be completely unbearable. One of the key issues that the union and City Hall are sparring over is a new system of teacher evaluation that CTU President Lewis told the press could cause 6,000 teachers to lose their jobs within two years.

Mayor Emanuel also wants to coerce teachers to extend the school day by 90 minutes so that he could keep his campaign promise to do so, and he attempted to skirt the union and ignore their contract. The CTU complained to the Illinois Educational Relations Board and the mayor stopped attempting to bypass the contract. However, in July, the city and union reached a compromise where the school district would rehire 500 laid-off teachers to work the extra hours required to extend the school day.

In the USA, teachers receive some of the lowest salaries in the country as compared to others with comparable education, and the importance and difficult nature of their jobs isn’t appreciated and it isn’t rewarded as well as it should be. Chicago-area teachers are fortunate; they still have a union to look after their interests, as many unions and labour organizations in the USA are floundering. The CTU’s 26,000 teachers didn’t show up for work on Monday, although the city said that it made quite a few concessions. In Mayor Emanuel’s opinion, there are only two stumbling blocks left:

• the teacher evaluation system
• his demand that the principal of each school decides who will be on the faculty in his school, as he’s responsible for the educational level of the facility

Mayor Emanuel believes the Chicago Public School System (CPS) and the union shouldn’t have a say in deciding what teachers work where. Across the USA, teachers and unions are watching the situation in Chicago very closely because the issues at play in Chicago are issues that teachers all across the USA share. One of these is class size, which in Chicago has grown to over 40 students in a classroom. The mayor says this isn’t a problem, but as a former teacher myself and, as any teacher will tell you, class size is a very important and key issue for many different reasons, the main one being the quality of the education and learning that takes place. Giving a teacher a class of such size and then basing their evaluations on the student’s results is a lose-lose situation for all those concerned and one which will backfire completely.

The Occupy Movement, along with many others in the USA, see the rich as not doing enough for the common people, and that’s clearly more evident in the area of education than it is anywhere else. However, why should the American Government promote and support high-quality education when a less-educated population is easier to control. This is a short-sighted strategy that’s bound to lose. High-quality education guarantees a prosperous future for any country, for any country that doesn’t value education, doesn’t value its citizenry nor its own future.

10 September 2012

John Robles

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_09_10/US-educators-not-respected/

2 May 2012. A Multimedia Presentation. The KPU Marched in Kiev for May Day… Those Aren’t Old Age Pensioners, Pardner…

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“Our choice is socialism“

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In Soviet times, May Day was a holiday, indeed. This day has a rich historical background … it was a memorial of an event in a Chicago strike, when police shot workers fighting for their rights. In fact, that began a struggle for the fair treatment of working people, for an 8-hour workday, and for satisfactory labour standards to ameliorate the terrible lot of female workers.

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If we talk about our reality, the USSR’s political system really proved that struggle brings concrete results. For example, in the 1930s, there were worldwide problems with unemployment. However, we avoided mass unemployment in that period. Moreover, people had the right to choose what kind of school to go to, whether to attend a vocational school or college, learn a profession, to do the things that they wanted to do. People exercised their rights; they grew up… that gave May Day a completely different meaning… it was a celebration of our achievements! We built kindergartens, hospitals, schools, and apartment complexes, we formed labour teams determined to go forward. People were proud of their accomplishments and happy to go to the May Day parade. Now, with our contemporary problems… the attitude to this holiday has changed.

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Today, in fact, May Day’s taken on another meaning… it’s a day of solidarity of the workers of all countries in the struggle for their rights. That is, we support the workers in Europe, in the USA, and in other countries, for we all face the same problems… low wages, high prices, and so on. To date, it’s clear that another priority is safe working conditions, and we must stand up for all of our rights, the unions must stand up against not only economic but also political problems. The KPU believes that we can solve our complex political and economic problems. If the government supports the workers’ demands, the owners must comply with them! Today, we must unite and consolidate our efforts, clearly define our goals, and strengthen the role of unions. If they’re silent, it’s difficult to execute organised protests and to defend our key positions.

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We have weak unions as we remain in a Soviet mentality. People received benefits, the government was good to them… they got vouchers, tours, kindergartens, apartments, pioneer camps, and palaces of sport and culture … who needed a real union if the enterprise fired no one? What about now? We say that we love freedom and that we’re hard-working, but does this freedom give us anything? People are afraid to take time off from work; the boss will stop their pay. Therefore, they’re silent. We must give a political impetus to affairs, to form in people an attitude that things are worth fighting for. Today, the labour movement’s under the owner’s thumb. It isn’t coincidental that, in fact, the new Labour Code gives rights only to the employer, not the working man. However, the unions are silent because they’re afraid of a backlash from the owners. It’s a vicious circle. Today, can an independent union lead even a dozen people into the streets? Essentially, the unions agreed to the new Labour Code because the employers actually have direct control of many of them. In minor details, the code mollifies workers, but in fact, it only benefits the employer. Therefore, I’m against the new Labour Code! From the standpoint of protecting the rights of labouring people, the Soviet code was the best one.

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Of course, my favourite holidays are May Day and the November holiday. In the Soviet times, a large number of people then took part in them. My mom always got me new clothes for these events. However, it wasn’t because of directives from the top… it was just nice for people to experience an atmosphere of unity, good humour, and optimism. We did everything from the heart… we were always proud of 23 February (Red Army Day). We knew what this day meant since the war touched almost everyone. Nevertheless, despite the difficult post-war times, we had the best military technology, our pilots went into space, and we invented the first nuclear-powered icebreaker. Then, many boys wanted to be soldiers and astronauts. Yet, the “holiday” that really had inner meaning for me was my mother’s birthday. I really loved her; I always waited for that day, looking to do something nice for her. For May Day, I wish all of you, firstly, happiness! I hope that your family life’s sunny and comfortable, with good health for you and for your parents, and may your kids always bring you joy! Well, if I can say anything in relation to May Day, I want to emphasise that you just can’t sit around and wait for better times, because there isn’t a victory without a struggle!

1 May 2012

Pyotr Simonenko

KPU.ua

Official Website of the KPU

 
http://www.kpu.ua/petr-simonenko-bez-borby-net-pobedy/

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Editor’s Note:

The Ukraine’s collapsed economically due to American interference in the country… the so-called Galician Uniate diaspora has been the worst actor in this. The Galician Uniates are similar to the Batista Cubans… many of them are extremist rightwingers (mostly supporters of Neocon Republicans), who peddled the cheap spiritual vodka of “nationalism” to disguise the fact that they were in the pay of American multinationals (they were benefitting, so, they followed orders to rape the country for the benefit of the McMansion dwellers in the USA). The Ukraine hit its nadir point during the time of Yushchenko… it’s starting to climb back out of the hole, to the level of Russia, Byelorussia, and Kazakhstan. Before it can get back on its feet, the Ukraine has to kick out all the Galician Uniate loudmouths from abroad and strictly limit the Uniates and their activities (they’re mostly Langley assets… they can’t be trusted at all as they’re anti-patriots).

Orthodox Christians in the diaspora should take some of Mr Simonenko’s words to heart:

“You just can’t sit around and wait for better times, because there isn’t a victory without a struggle”.

Indeed, if we’re going to have a united Russian Orthodox Church in the diaspora, it’s not going to be pleasant or nice in the immediate near term. There are those who benefit from the current arrangements, and there are those (such as Peterson and Paffhausen) who’d have no place in a legitimate Church. They won’t “go quietly into that dark night”. The worst is yet to come, I fear…

BMD

A Word to the wise on Wikipedia:

Wikipedia’s basically pro-Western in its coverage of the post-Soviet space and China… that’s “objective” in their eyes. In particular, I’m told that one of the Wikipedia editors is a fanatic Galician Uniate, so, be suspect of ANYTHING on the post-Soviet space, as it passes through their hands. EVERY source has its slant… I’m pro-Russian, pro-Orthodox, and pro-Leftist. There! I’m honest about it… unlike Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, SVS, Orthowiki, and Wikipedia. Trust me, even slanted sources have their uses, once you know their biases.

What can you do about the bias? Pass the jug and reflect on the fact that the world hasn’t stopped being crank in the last 24. It’s certainly more healthy than pointless controversy and argument, isn’t it? Just remember… biases in the open are biases defanged. Again… I don’t claim to be “objective”… NO ONE IS. However, I DO have a passion for the truth that’s missing in many… you can take that to the bank. Be careful… there be dragons out there…

BMD

Medvedev and Putin Join May Day Demonstration

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin (1958- ) is on the left, President Medvedev (1965- ) is at the centre, and PM Putin (1952- ) is on the right (it appears that his wife Lyudmilla (1958- ) is at his left, in a rare public appearance).

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On Tuesday, President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia‘s ruling dyarchs, made a rare joint appearance at a May Day rally in downtown Moscow. They led the Russian Workers’ Union Federation march for a portion of the route and spoke to a number of demonstrators. Later, the pair went to have a couple brews at a gin-mill just off Novy Arbat, a major avenue near the route used by official motorcades to whisk them to and from the Kremlin.

The demonstrators at the “Holiday of Spring and Labour” rally included senior figures from the ruling United Russia Party and pro-Kremlin youth groups, and they marched down Tverskaya Street, Moscow’s main shopping thoroughfare, to Manezhnaya Square, just by the Kremlin walls. They chanted slogans demanding better protection of workers’ rights and criticising government plans to make changes to the pension system. Police sources think that about 120,000 people turned out.

The rally also targeted Russia’s opposition movement, which called off its planned 1 May demonstration in order to “focus” on a March of Millions protest in Moscow on 6 May. In Manezhnaya Square, top United Russia official Andrei Isayev called for a stop to “the liberal revanche” as demonstrators held banners reading, “Spring’s come, the swamp’s dried up”, a reference to Bolotnaya Square (“Swampy Square”)… the venue of a series of mass anti-Putin protests which shook Russia this winter. A number of other rallies took place elsewhere in Moscow.

The activist group Coming Out said that the cops arrested demonstrators both in Moscow and in St Petersburg, Russia’s second city, where the coppers nicked about 17 gay rights activists at an opposition rally. The 1 May festivities, a yearly tradition inherited from Soviet times, were a week before Putin’s inauguration as President for a third term on 7 May. Putin won a landslide victory in the presidential election in March, but allegations of electoral fraud marred it.

1 May 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120501/173148482.html

Editor’s Note:

Would Mitt Romney march in a May Day Parade? Of course not… there’s nothing in it for him. No doubt, VVP and Dmitri Anatolyevich went to the gin-mill to confab with senior labour leaders in a relaxed and unforced atmosphere. Now, that’s how LEADERS act…

BMD

1 May 2012. It’s May Day… International Worker’s Day

1 May: The Day of International Labour Solidarity

Unknown Artist

1980s

Russian

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International Workers’ Day is the commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, which occurred after an unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they dispersed a public assembly during a general strike for the eight-hour workday. In response, the Chicago police fired on the workers killing dozens of demonstrators and several of their own officers. In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. May Day was formally recognised as an annual event at the International’s second congress in 1891.

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It’s all for their own good… Rush and Sean say so!

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Yep… not only will you pay the money so that the McMansion dwellers can play… your kids will spill their blood so that the kids of the Five Percent won’t have to… they “have more important things to do”, as Mr Cheney said so truthfully…

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A May Day Wish List:

• A world without war
• A world without exploitation
• A world where the 99 Percent rule, not the 1 Percent
• A world without racism or sexism or discrimination by race, ethnicity, language, gender, sexual orientation, or place of birth
• A world where children are cherished and nurtured and seniors live in security and dignity
• A world where the natural environment’s protected and restored, not devastated for private profit
• A world where high-quality education, health care, and housing are free for all as a right
• A world where every nation and people can develop to its full potential, in cooperation and harmony with all others
• A world where the best that human culture can create is available to everyone

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His Nibs has NO problems with President Obama… BO is FAR closer to HH on issues of social justice than Mitt Romney is… so, if you’re Orthodox, vote for the President, he’s the closest to the Church in his social vision (the Republicans are only anti-abortion… that doesn’t count, as they’re also pro-greed, pro-war, pro-torture, and anti-social welfare).

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If there were REAL problems with this document, trust me, the US Supreme Court would’ve intervened in favour of the GOP. After all, they had even flimsier grounds when they stole the election for George W Bush in 2000. Joe Arpaio‘s a racist scummer… there’s NO question of the President’s birth or citizenship. However, that’s what the Bubbas believe… and they can vote. That’s why we have to, as well.

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Whose “Wish List” is this? Why, it’s the Communist Party’s programme. That’s why Obama’s NOT a Socialist (anyone who thinks such is brain-damaged and lobotomised). He’s a moderate Centrist, nowhere near a Leftist, but he’s preferable to the Hard Right extremists of the Republican Party, who want to slash Social Security, cut taxes even further for the most affluent Five Percent, and wage perpetual warfare for the enrichment of the McMansion dwellers (whose sons won’t die in foreign parts… that’s reserved for the badly-off souls forced into military servitude by the pitiable circumstances in the rural parts of our country). The President is far from being a Socialist, but he’s NOT a Far Right Theocratic Thug like Romney. If we allow Romney to enter office, we’ll be wishing for President Obama’s return, but the Department of Homeland Security (don’t you just love the Orwellian ring of that Bushie cabal?) will tap our phones, monitor our e-mails, and resume torture in foreign prisons. Wouldn’t that be grand?

That’s why I’m for a quarter-loaf of good bread instead of a full loaf of strychnine-laced Wonder Bread. It’s time to hold back the Right… if we do so, it’ll break the back of the worst of it. That’s well-worth fighting for. “Oft we mar what is good enough by striving for perfection”… let’s keep things out of the hands of the One Percent… that’s the ticket.

BMD