3 weeks-- help us make them count!
In 1912, women and children in Lawrence, Massachusetts were working 56-hour weeks in the textile mills. When the state cut their hours to 54, the mill owners cut their pay to match. On January 11th, a group of Polish women opened their pay envelopes, saw the missing wages, and walked out. Within days, more than 20,000 workers from over 50 nationalities joined them. They marched through a brutal New England winter for two months. They won.
Massachusetts was the first state to pass a minimum wage law. The first union of working women was organized in Lowell. The 9to5 movement — "Raises, Not Roses" — was founded in Boston. The labor rights we take for granted didn't come from generous employers or enlightened politicians. They were fought for, here, by people like us.
Then came the rollback. Reagan fired 11,000 striking air traffic controllers in 1981 and told the country that unions were the enemy. Corporations got the message. Over the next four decades, wages flatlined while productivity and profits soared. Union membership dropped from one in three workers to one in ten. "Right to work" laws spread across the country, designed to drain union funds while sounding pro-worker. The tax code was rewritten to reward the biggest and punish everyone else. Billionaire wealth went from under a trillion dollars in 2000 to nearly 20 trillion in 2026.
Now Trump and the billionaire class that bought him are finishing the job — gutting the NLRB, slashing workplace safety enforcement, firing federal workers, and making it harder to organize while corporate profits hit record highs.
May 1st — International Workers' Day — started because workers in this country were killed fighting for the 8-hour day. This year, we're honoring that history by coming together right here in Westfield.
We need your help for May 1st! Here is how you can get involved:
Create Signs: Focus on labor themes, healthcare, housing, and fair wages.
Share Your Voice: Help set up or run a table at our upcoming teach-in.
Network: Know a union member or organizer? Connect us—we are looking for rally speakers.
Create Content: Share or create labor history art, writing, or digital content.
Mobilize: Bring one new person to a Tuesday or Friday standout.
Safety: Train to become a safety marshal for our public events.
Contribute: Make a financial contribution to support the movement.
Our next large event:
April 25th | 11 AM – 12 PM | Park Square
This is our prequel to May Day and part of the national Communities Not Cages day of action against ICE detention centers.
May 1st | 2 PM - 4 PM | Park Square (tentative hours)
No Work No School No Shopping - if you can - instead support your local businesses, not the conglomerates. May 1st will be focused on solidarity, and education.
No Kings Westfield
[email protected]