Women's Day March in San Antonio Says “Ya Basta” ("Enough is enough!") to Abusive Treatment of Workers
- “I’m proud of myself and my co-workers, because we are not just victims. We are not afraid to fight back.”
- “Hyatt, Hyatt, What do you say? Stop abusing your workers today”
Chris Kutalik, Labor Notes
International Women's Day often gets short shrift in the United States, its places of birth, but in San Antonio, women's groups are raising its profile—and a little hell—while bolstering a hotel organizing drive. Photo: Chris Kutalik.
Much like its storied sibling, International Labor Day (May 1), International Women's Day often gets short shrift in the United States, its places of birth.
But for 20 straight years women's groups and allies in San Antonio, Texas, have been raising the profile of Women’s Day—and a little hell—by taking to the streets. The march has grown steadily over the years, and close to 2,000 marched this Saturday, making it the largest and arguably the rowdiest such event in the country.
The varied messages of the annual event reflect the broad coalition of groups that come together to plan it over several months of weekly women-only meetings. Women from the worker-run seamstress collective Fuerza Unida rub shoulders with younger Chicana feminists from the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and women from a local university's social work association and the Martinez Street Women's Center. Banners bearing the Virgin of Guadeloupe mix with signs showing old-time Latina labor leader Emma Tenayuca and those bearing slogans like “End NAFTA: Stop the Femicide in Juarez” (a reference to the many violent deaths stemming from the drug trade in that border city).
