It’s May Day again — that’s International Workers’ Day, for those not in the know. Here in NYC, the Guggenheim’s been occupied, Free University’s been liberating education from the university-industrial complex, the Immigrant Workers Justice Tour has marched through Manhattan and at 5pm, we’ll be Shutting It Down for Freddie Gray, starting at Union Square. (For more on today’s events — of which there are many — check out the calendar at 99pickets.org.)
Here at Murphy, we celebrate May Day as the yearly commemoration of those who have fought for a better life for the working class — while continuing to wage our struggle.
This year’s May Day marks yet another milestone: the one-year anniversary of this blog.
On May 1st, 2014, the Murphy Institute Blog was launched — and what a year it’s been. As the Murphy Institute has grown and evolved, the Blog has grown as well. We’ve featured work from students, faculty, staff and the larger Murphy community. We showcase events happening at Murphy, maintain a steady list of job postings relevant to the community, share Murphy updates, feature regular news round-ups, and more.
Some highlights from the past year include…
- Consortial faculty member Prof. Steve Brier’s launch post on this history of May Day
- Nick Unger writing on Union Structures, Labor History, and Union Member Consciousness
- Prof. Kafui Attoh on labor and the World Cup
- Union Semester alum Ella Mahony on Sheryl Sandberg and the Doubletree Hotel workers
- Prof. Penny Lewis on adjunct organizing
- Prof. Josh Freeman on Zephyr Teachout and the future of NYS politics
- …and, of course, the launch of our Arts & Culture section, featuring a fascinating cross-section of labor and the arts edited by Murphy staff members Zenzile Greene and Samina Shahidi. (Did you catch Zenzile’s feature on JSMI staffer Ellie Morales and the transformation of the Murphy offices?)
Thank you for joining us on this journey. We look forward to growing & continuing the fight in the upcoming year — and for many years to come.
Solidarity, and Happy May Day. Workers of the world, unite!
