EuroMayDay
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EuroMayDay is a political day of action against precarity promoted by a network of feminist, anti-capitalist and migrant groups and collectives in mostly Western Europe. It takes place on the 1st of May each year, May Day, traditionally a celebration of solidarity among workers across the world. EuroMayDay has been promoted as an attempt to "update" the traditional May Day by focusing on flex and temp workers, migrants and other "precarious" people living in Europe.
In 2005, the EuroMayDay network used the slogan Precarious people of the world let's unite and strike 4 a free, open, radical Europe. The Middlesex Declaration of Europe's Precariat emerged from the Beyond ESF event held in parallel to the European Social Forum held in London in October 2004.
EuroMayDay originated in Milan, from where it first spread to Barcelona in 2004, and then to a dozen cities all over Europe in 2005. It has been claimed that the number of participants has increased from 5000 people in Milan in 2001 to 50,000 in 2003, and 100,000 in 2004 (Milan and Barcelona together). In 2005, approximately 200,000 people took part in EuroMayDay demonstrations and actions, mostly in Western Europe. In 2006, while some groups dropped out of the process, the number of cities participating grew to involve 300,000 young demonstrators in the EuroMayDay parades held in twenty EU cities. EuroMayDay groups exist in many different cities, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, L'Aquila, León, Liege, London, Maribor, Marseilles, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Seville, Stockholm, Vienna and, in 2006 for the first time outside of Europe, Tokyo.
Signatories include:
- Für eine linke Strömung,
- the chainworkers,
- Syndikalistiska Ungdomsförbundet, ACT! unterstützt Zapatistas
[edit] Eurocentrism
Some people criticize the EuroMayDay for being self-evidently eurocentric. Further concern has caused the re-use of the term Neuropa (2004 mayday callout) which had been coined by African-American intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois at the outbreak of WWII to refer to Hitler's plans for Europe.
Alex Foti, one of the prime movers, stated in an interview titled Precarity and n/european identity: "If we don't act now, we're looking at a future of precarity for all Europeans. Because the idea is to make us a new Asia or a new America - not a new Europe." Also the declaration that "our political space is Europe" (in [1], Invisible Workers of the World) is seen by some as evidence of eurocentrism.
Those involved disagree with these criticisms, pointing out no borders and migrant solidarity actions that are part of EuroMayDay events.
