May Day Caravan

Our Lives are Essential!

Photos by Alvine

May 1. International Workers Day. A day to celebrate worker power and laborers everywhere. This year the stakes are high as the spread of COVID-19 is putting essential workers’ lives on the line to keep our city going. And the crisis is illuminating how some companies are put ting their profits over the safety of their workers. Frontline workers in Nashville and countrywide are fighting for personal protective equipment, fair wages and hazard pay, paid sick time of f, health insurance and basic protections to ensure their safety and dignity.

The pandemic has shown that it’s the underpaid, of ten underappreciated workers that are truly essential. So on this May Day, Workers’ Dignity led a caravan of more than 50 cars through 15 miles of Nashville streets with two goals. First, to show support for frontline workers that are providing our community with the services we need. And second, to call on employers and companies to step up and do more to protect their workers now.

Cheering for workers on May Day and telling them thank you in and of itself is not going to put food on the table or provide protective equipment to keep workers and their families safe from the coronavirus. But the caravan was about more than just saying thank you — it was an act of solidarity by and for workers, showing them that they are not alone.

There is a whole community backing people who are fighting for their safety and dignity. The COVID crisis is far from over, and as workers, we must stand together and exercise our collective power and rights. If you are ready to improve conditions at your workplace or suppor t others in their fights, reach out to us at 615-669-6679 or info@workersdignity.org.