Workers Mark May Day Amid a Rising Tide of Labor Activism

Celebrating International Workers Day, Ukraine Weapons Czar and The Blood On His Hands, The Brutality of Gentrification

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Dave Lindorff, investigative journalist, editor of the online publication ThisCantBeHappening.net and 2019 winner of an “Izzy” Award for Outstanding Independent Media to discuss the history of international workers day in the US and around the world and what it means in the current context of rising labor activism, the de-radicalized US holiday of labor day and how it presents a defanged picture of the labor movement in the US, and the importance of the history of labor struggle in the US and what gains it has won from the ruling class.

In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Jeremy Kuzmarov, Managing editor of CovertAction Magazine and author of four books on US foreign policy, including The Russians are Coming, Again, with John Marciano and Obama's Unending Wars to discuss the bloody hands of Ukraine weapons czar Terry Wolff and his record in Iraq and other wars of US imperialism, how the recent piling of weapons into Ukraine will only prolong the war and kill more Ukrainians in order to fulfill the US’ goal of weakening Russia, the large-scale state terror operation on people in Ukraine who support Russia and how it contrasts with the saintly image of Volodymyr Zelensky painted in the mainstream media, and why the history of NATO expansion is relevant to the situation in Ukraine today.

In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Bryan Weaver, Adams Morgan Community activist and Community Outreach Specialist at Potter’s House to discuss the story of Adams Morgan resident Miguel Gonzales and how his story demonstrates the cruelty of the capitalist system in pushing people out of their homes and keeping people out of housing, the struggle around the SunTrust Plaza in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in Washington, DC and how it demonstrates gentrification’s role in making and keeping people homeless, and how local government helped developers destroy communities like Adams Morgan.

Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by James Early, Former Director of Cultural Heritage Policy at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Smithsonian Institution and board member of the Institute for Policy Studies to discuss the history and importance of May day in the United States and the international solidarity on display from Americans in Cuba celebrating the workers holiday, Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Ukraine and the US and NATO’s prolonging of the war in Ukraine and how it has affected working people around the world, and the importance of Cuba’s revolution not only to the Cuban people but also to the people of Latin America.

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