Support for McDonalds workers
In New Zealand in 1905 the first May Day workers gatherings were reported in the newspapers. There were two events, one
in Wellington and one in Christchurch. The Wellington meeting was held in a packed His Majesty’s Theatre, and was
organised by the New Zealand Socialist Party, whose acting Chairman, W. Wolstenholm declared the meeting as a
recognition that the workers interests were the same the world over.
The main speaker of the day was the anarchist Philip Josephs who gave a full history of May Day and it’s meaning, and
presented a motion that
“We, the workers of Wellington, New Zealand, send fraternal greeting to the workers of every land, and affirm the
principles of international solidarity; we affirm our determination to strive for the economic emancipation of our
class, and are of opinion that no reform, political or economic, can be of lasting benefit to the workers of this
country, that would not be of equal benefit to the proletariat of all nations.”
In Christchurch, J. Cook, stated that “The [so called] ideal place for the worker was not at all perfect, and would not
be perfect until the worker was the ruler and had the fruits of what they produced.”
These are sentiments that reverberate today and across the world May Day is still a day when workers across the world
take to the streets to display solidarity and demand better conditions. In this spirit the Aotearoa Workers Solidarity
Movement express their support with the McDonalds’ workers who are asking New Zealanders to stay away from McDonalds
this May Day in support of the workers struggle against zero hour contracts.
ENDS