operation today. by washington d.c. and here's what's coming up today on the big picture today is may day. but. the it oh no not that mayday it's international workers day a global day of action for workers from across the globe are fighting back against abuses of power in the corporate takeover of government and i will be taking you to cities across america to talk about the impact of today's protests and demonstrations we start off tonight with the occupy movements efforts.

you need to know this workers of the world are uniting in a global day of action to commemorate international workers day in hundreds of cities across america and around the world in london barcelona to roddick while on board city there were calls for a general strike with no working no shopping and no banking the occupy movement here in the united states branded it as a day without the ninety nine percent one thing you might have noticed in today's rallies in march is that a majority of those taking part of the action are young people that's because they've figured out that reaganomics austerity policies they're pushing back against are harming them the most according to a new study by the international labor organization trickle down austerity measures like the ones passed by europe and by republicans here in the united states disproportionately hit young workers the hardest in austerity rocked ireland for example a third of young workers are unemployed and in austerity hit spain more than half

of all workers under twenty five are unemployed and here in the united states or republicans of force the president's and on budget cuts including cuts to pell grant programs half of our nation's recent college graduates are out of work or underemployed if young people can't find work out of college that a whole generation of entrepreneurs teachers and engineers could be lost and that's why young people all around the world and the occupy movement are leading the march on this may day for a round up of today's action from new york city i'm joined by occupant participant mark bray associate editor alter net sarah seltzer welcome to you both. yes thank you thanks for joining us mark let me start with you if that's ok how is may day in new york city today. it couldn't have gone any better i mean really even from the start of the day when we had our pop up occupation despite a little bit of rain early on we had i would say maybe a peak of a thousand people bryant park on

a rainy tuesday morning we had educational events we had workshops we had pickets to local corporations we had a free university down in madison square park and then just now in union square we had i'd say at least fifteen thousand people if not maybe of twenty marching in conjunction with unions immigrant groups it's been fantastic as a reporter what was the experience covering this. yeah it was very it felt. very positive so this is the third really large union in joined march i think that i've covered or participated in as a. sort of report from the reporter for alter net and it was a similarly huge crowds in the marches we saw in november but it was asked of spring like a carnival like atmosphere and it really did feel like may day there was a maypole people wearing costumes there was a glitter paint the music that they had in union square really added to that. and it was sort of it felt less it felt more like a celebration of

a new beginning unless you know that there were still a lot of anger but it was my felt more hopeful and and the vibes were really really perfect for mayday that didn't it didn't hurt that the sun came out as people were streaming into union square south. from the perspective of the story that you know we're putting together at alter net that is obviously a great set piece indeed in fact how would you gauge the police response to the demonstrations were there any arrests. there were of us this morning i you know i don't have a an exact count there were there was a wildcat action on the lower east side and there were some arrests there i think there were a few arrests during a march in midtown for immigrant rights i'm not i didn't see any arrests in union square but with the wind sort of a universal theme that i'm getting from today just from people's tweets and from what i personally observed is that there there is an outside police presence compared to the number of protesters there were so many cops everywhere you when

they were lining the streets of soho and the village people marched and it was very absurd given the peacefulness of the crowds you know these were these were workers there were a lot of families there people pushing baby baby stroller there were plenty of senior citizens so it just it just seemed ridiculous and i did feel to me that the relationship between the community and the police has deteriorated a little bit since the fall in terms of people were getting more vocally frustrated with the cops and maybe just because they've been reading all the news reports about the arrests and the intimidation. you know that it doesn't say there wasn't any deliberate there was no deliberate provocation or anything like that but i did sense some frustration from the crowd well and maybe on the police to they've been influenced by the fact the other was jamie diamond was one of the banks gave the police found several million dollars of in the can't help but to polarize the

situation mark i'm curious as an occupier is this the kickoff of occupy wall street spring and if so what might it look like. yeah i would say it is i mean i always try to counter the popular media narrative that you know we've just sort of been on vacation since december because if you look at our schedule over january february march you'll see that we've had a whole variety of workshops teach ins demonstrations team building exercises and we really work to strengthen our communication our infrastructure our relationships with different unions and immigrant rights groups and community groups so a day like today couldn't have happened without all of that work right but i do think that today is getting the message across that we're far from dead that we're going to be around for a long time and that this can be a step towards people realizing that you know we may not have ten thousand twenty thousand people out on the street every month because you know there's other things that focus on but that a long term social movement depends on having a mix of big sort of spectacular public actions and behind the scenes community

organizing and work on a personal level and so we're going to use this momentum as sort of a shot of adrenaline to further our community organizing get people involved in our foreclosure campaigns our debt student debt campaigns labor solidarity environmental issues and so we have a number of actions over the coming months and what we're trying to do is build something that's long term and sustainable sara what are you hearing about the the impact that the occupation movement the occupy movement the ninety nine percent movement the various you know pieces of this will have on the on the elections in november. that's a really good question i mean there's been very most of the the core occupiers that i spoke to have been adamant about not getting directly involved as occupy in elections but there's no question that the issues they brought up were you know will be and if you know if occupy continues to be a strong presence at the conventions let's say and you know the public appearances

of the candidates as they did in new hampshire for instance issues of economic inequality will have to be discussed and have to be debated and we won't just be talking about austerity austerity austerity. girls to be talking about you know income stratification and student debt and all these issues that are so important and so i think it's really an issue and issue based involvement as opposed to a candidate based involvement in a fine thing it is mark very serious seltzer thank you both for being with us thank you so much. on a massive day of action like this there's always a debate over what sort of tactics should be used to advance the movement forward and all of the occupy movement has prided itself primarily as a peaceful movement there are elements within it that have endorsed more what some may call destructive tactics last night on the eve of made a group of somewhere between twenty and fifty protesters took to the streets in san francisco armed with crowbars splattering buildings breaking store fronts and car windows and even the lighting an s.u.v.

on fire local occupy movement condemned the vandalism but it's not the first time such a tactic has been employed in the background of peaceful occupy rallies and a lot of this seemed to be happening on the west coast joining me now from the west coast to give us the latest on occupies may day events is alter net's joshua joshua welcome back. looking at here anything except the when. you say some. audio problems you're cutting ok. well i can i can i can hear you now if you want to try this you're in oakland the site of. if you're an ocean the site of some of the most tumultuous encounters between the occupy movement and the police what's going on there this may day. san francisco. strikes smaller groups the big. might be just more different protests today the

biggest one is scheduled to or seven pm local time that's actually search a couple of hours to get behind me it's still think that the occupy san francisco. occupy. what you're going to get from this big meeting. before we get used to be a friend. down. here several leaders in terms of about one hundred fifty occupiers and. with that. carriage stay six dozen police officers all around the neighborhood all have just watched they seem to be holding now perhaps it is night. i'll be going back now to what it is and now we're. very thick marks it without the joshua what have you heard on the ground from people who were there about last night's vandalism. you know i've spoken to now four different members occupy san francisco. very similar story that

it was a that they were not familiar with this or they didn't seem to fit in and it's a little bit of both christine stiller yeah it's really. a commitment again. ruth. to see the same faces so we don't really know what that something that it was. but the mandals and i vandals were people who the regulars in the occupy movement that area had never seen before were not familiar with were wearing brand new. appropriate clothes i guess but at the yeah and that just it just one of those

things that chevy chase. special. time shots for the students top story you can stop asking. me. it's and i'm on the right so instead of going after the big with the big chain companies and things which at the very least if somebody was using those tactics we probably would joshua holland thank you so much for the great reporting. now that's not always great to see a while the occupy movement may be leading the way in today's rallies historically labor and movements have been at the forefront of the fight for workers' rights coming up after the break what role does the labor play in this effort to create an economy that serves not just the one percent but all of us. if we just put a picture of me when i was like nine years old until she told the truth.

i confess and i am a total get of friends that i love traveling hip hop music and pretty. much he was kind of a guest today. i'm very proud of the world with its place. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm sorry welcome to the big picture.

welcome back to our special coverage of today's may day events may day used to be a day set aside for immigrant workers in america after opposition from the u.s.

government that day quickly lost most of its relevance to our country but despite being dormant for decades made it its legacy are able to live on today thanks in large part to america's immigrant workers in two thousand and six immigrant activists organized a day without an immigrant a nationwide strike of immigrant workers turned out to be one of the largest demonstrations and protests of workers in american history and today immigrant activists are making their make on this yours or their markets unit on this year's may day as well joining me now to discuss this is axel cappiello founder and producer of when tommy. tommy i brave new foundation campaign axel i did it again. when times when found me say it. says the little extra door here. please for me ok. so.

so what is clinton and how is it being used to promote workers' rights for mexican and latino workers in america devil well let me means it has a double meaning it means tell me your story and count me in and what we're doing is we're telling stories and getting people counted and we tell stories through a documentary series campaigns where we're partner with a wide variety of organizations to really promote those stories particularly in this case of latino workers and workers in general who are facing some challenges from from their employers and we tell those stories that mobilized individuals to take action important action as was the case today particularly today the action was in front of a recycling center in los angeles there was hundreds of folks out there and we were asking for rides for recycler workers who have been abused and and really are fighting for for

a better opportunity and in you you're asking people to contact the government in that area it's not just los angeles and do something about the way these workers are being abused by these private contractors. yeah absolutely the way that we set it up today is we had a great stage with some fantastic speakers soloed is where the who's a legend in the latino movement and the worker meant was there and speaking very passionately pro worker rights we had a big display where we projected the video and at the end of the video in front of the hundreds of supporters we had a particular e-mail address city council at. g.o.v.t. and what that address was is because that city in particular is this an out of contract to. reclamation which is the big private recycling center and is doing so ignoring the facts that this corporation who makes

a lot of money is consistently abusing workers and primarily latino workers it is not providing the safety in fact to workers have died in the past year because of lack of safety safety and because of lack of provisions and so that was what the main rally was about in general as a symbolic movement pro worker but you know to highlight that we have a lot of challenges today particularly our latino workers are having a lot of challenges today as we see the greed in the abuse by the hands of large corporations that are sweeping into these cities and this communities and are really really hijacking those to secure contracts that otherwise would be promoting more worker rights in general and they're making a lot of money doing in fact the video you just referenced let me share with our viewers just a twelve second clip out of it here it is. enough there was no if someone had let

me said it could be a permit to complain you. know someone rather better only let him have mine and i get that from. now i'm guessing that the situation is not unique to los angeles or that area no definitely not it is it is emblematic and symbolic of something that is widespread the case of los angeles and el monte is of particular nature because it's come in. particular an element of this contract is coming up and so we're really promoting the ability to have workers at the negotiating table you know most forget that what these corporations where these services are provided they're provided by workers by labor and so when you exclude them from the negotiating table when you exclude them from pretty much every decision that the city council doesn't you exclude their rights you know as part of their count contract and you're only talking about what

is going to line the pockets of the c.e.o.'s then we have a problem and this is this is systematic across the country in many places where we're privatizing a lot of public services and there's now those contracts to these big corporations that we're forgetting that you know the element the essence of it is is our workers and the workers are the ones who are ending up being abused you guys are doing a great job publicizing this and you know keep it up thanks so much at axel for being with us today thank you so much and i invite everyone to visit and watch the video at facebook dot com slash me thank you x. . staying on the topic of labor historically labor organizations have spearheaded economic change in america through strikes rallies and marches in fact may day itself or what's better known today as international workers day has its roots in the labor movement of the nineteenth century demanding better working conditions and pay conditions during the robber baron era right here in the united states and

today as workers now face similar challenges the labor movement is once again organizing and back in the streets richard trumka the president if l c o released a statement on today's action saying workers' rights should be universal and every person no matter what nationality at this city or gender must have equal rights and the opportunity to achieve a better life but now that the occupy movement is carrying the banner for today's action what is labour's role stuart take up joins me now he's the chief chief of staff of the utility workers union of america former director of organizing for the a.f.l.-cio also author of several books his most recent plane bigger than you are a life in organizing and you are in of thom hartmann. and proud of it and i am pleased to have you with you what role does labor play in this movie right now oh it's a very important role a very critical role in fact what we're seeing and from the. right

wing the koch brothers karl rove and crossroads of america's they're trying to kill us this year they have focused on the juggler and they're trying to kill the lives you know maybe they're trying to kill the labor movement so that there is no effective counter point to their power corporate power this is why the anti-labor legislation in wisconsin exactly exactly if you look at the first states that they did that in they're all swing states they're all swing states so you take away ten twenty thirty percent of the labor vote democrats can't win. pro workers candidates can't win and we are very proud to be partners with the occupy movement and very grateful to the occupy movement they change the date they have changed the conversation in america they've changed the debate in america

from one on debt. to one on our future. and they are very important partners for us and and critical partners for us and we needed frankly tom we needed the kind of wake up call yeah well and people in the street is a big piece of it and yeah in the president today in just just moments ago in afghanistan announced that he's pulling twenty three thousand troops an additional twenty three to troops thousand troops out of the out of afghanistan by the end of this summer and turning the gray of the country over the afghan government twenty fourteen isn't this major reversal of bush's policies by this president in part the result of millions of people in the street doesn't it show the power as movements when people get out there and how successful they can be even if it takes a decade for that success dance absolutely but you know change in america has never come quickly it's always. a difficult process if you think about how long it took

for african-americans to get their freedom you know for for centuries you know still it's a still of and still precarious and how long it took for women to be able to vote and how look long it took for workers to be able to organize and now they're trying to take away and in fact in many cases are taking away our right to organize so yes absolutely. the key to change in america is not just the action but it it's also. staying with it it's also not good. being up it's also never letting you go never turn him loose never turn around. you right in you in your book in your most recent book about how sikh on his book about how people get power inspired you when you were young right and right when i was in college at university of missouri what did you learn from that that you then applied to your life into your work and that you think that the that

we all should go but i came to social change from the judeo christian background my father was a bad dismissed or and i read the scriptures every night for years year after year after year after year. what i got from side cons book and want to got from a few other people was so much more effective when you do it together and really that's how we're made to work together you know not as individuals but the thing that i love about the labor movement and organizing and occupy and all these other movements is it's about linking arms and lifted everybody up together everybody's kids everybody's family everybody's future together not pushing anybody's not crawling over anybody's bag not ratting anybody out but doing it together as as as a people and and that's what i got. that's the key

lesson from organizing whether it's a book or whether it's my book is we are social species and we're. and we're most noble when we're working together for everybody's welfare for well so that we're wired for this yeah you're right we are wired for that it's i think it's in our d.n.a. it more than eighty nations around the world are celebrating today as international workers day not the united states although it all started with the haymarket square stuff even eight hundred eighty six when when the police killed four people and and then the next day the you know this bomb got thrown back in the minute we have left i'm curious your thoughts on why we don't celebrate international workers day in the you know i think in some ways it's been co-opted spring co-opted by labor day and at the end of the summer where there's still a lot of activity i would like for your viewers to remember that.

may day started with the fight for the eight hour day and the right to form the union those two issues the eight hour day in the writing for meetings and he says yes in one thousand nine hundred six give us time for leisure give us time for our families give us time to be human beings that's what made a civil give us time to be human beings for us stewart thanks so much. always great to see you thanks for joining a very much the labor movement woke up last year in madison wisconsin and it's time for everyone both in the leaderless occupy movement and the more established labor movement to work together to take back this country from the romney super rich. after the break it's great that americans are in the streets today standing up for the plight of the working class but why is all this really happening and what kind of policy should be pushed today to help clean up america's economic mess.

you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you. are welcome is a big issue. mr

.