E tū members joined thousands of workers at May Day events across the country on Friday 1 May, marching, gathering, and sending a clear message that workers are ready to change this Government.
From Whangārei to Invercargill, the message was the same. Fuel prices and grocery bills keep climbing. Pay equity has been gutted. Workers’ rights have been stripped back. The Government tells working families to tighten their belts while doing nothing to take the pressure off.
The 7 November election was front and centre at every event, with a big push on getting workers enrolled and ready to vote.
Members made these events happen. Delegates and activists spoke from the stage, helped organise the logistics, ran stalls, and got their workmates along. May Day is built by the people who turn up, and our members showed up in numbers.
E tū care worker Carla Alfonso spoke at the Auckland event, highlighting the importance of workers standing up against an economy designed to take advantage of our work.
“As we mark International Workers’ Day, we unite with all the workers of the world in demanding an end to an exploitative system that devalues our labour and treats us like commodities.”
The momentum does not stop here. Every conversation with a workmate about enrolling, every flyer handed out, every shift turned into a chance to talk politics is part of the same campaign. We have until November to make sure every worker is enrolled and ready to vote.