May Day was born in blood. We remember. We rise

 

Today is International Workers’ Day — also known as May Day — a day of remembrance born in the streets, not in the halls of power.    Where I come from, we don’t celebrate May Day with brunches and speeches. We remember it with blood in the soil. From Blair Mountain to Harlan County, our ancestors faced down company thugs and strikebreakers with nothing but grit and union cards. At Paint Creek they dug trenches. At Matewan, they stared down a corporate army. In Brookside, it was women on the line — blocking trucks and facing riot cops head-on. They buried our heroes in unmarked graves. They banned our unions, jailed our leaders, and tried to break our spirit with Pinkertons and propaganda. But they couldn’t erase what we knew in our bones — that our labor built this country, and our solidarity could change it. And I’ll be damned if I sit by while the MAGA crooks try to erase that history — or gut everything we fought to win. So let me be clear: I’m not just pro-labor. I am labor. Back in 2018, I helped organize a teachers’ strike that kicked off a seven-state strike wave. We locked arms with bus drivers and classroom aides, cafeteria workers and janitors — and won better wages and safer working conditions for educators and school support personnel across the country.

That’s the kind of fight I bring to Congress. But I can’t do it alone. Help us build a May Day war chest with a contribution right now. Because the same corporate snakes and fat cats we fought a century ago are back with new names and flashier suits — but the same rotten agenda: Crush unions. Exploit workers. Silence dissent. Hoard the damn wealth. And my opponent Richard Hudson? He’s their frontman. The NRCC’s bagman. The guy who bankrolls the billionaires and kneecaps the working class. While we organize for fair contracts and strike for dignity on the job, he’s out there handing tax cuts to union-busting CEOs. While teachers walk out for better pay, while nurses demand safe staffing, while autoworkers hold the line — he’s slashing labor protections, gutting OSHA, and voting to break our backs for another billionaire’s bonus When working people rise, he votes to knock us down. But working people don’t stay down — we get louder, tougher, and more organized. I’m not going to Congress to play nice. I’m going to Congress to fight like hell for the folks who clock in, stand tall, and never stop pushing forward. Pitch in now and let’s remind them that organized money is no match for organized labor. Sappers clear the way, Airborne all the way! Maj. Richard Ojeda (Ret.) Candidate for Congress, NC-09

DOD DISCLAIMER: Use of rank, photos in uniform, or other insignia does not denote endorsement by the U.S. Army or Department of Defense.

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Richard Ojeda is a retired Army Major, combat veteran, former State Senator, lifelong public servant and a proud husband and father of two. Richard is running to flip NC-09 and fight for veterans and working families. DONATE Paid for by Ojeda for NC  ©2025 Ojeda for NC, all rights reserved   Our mailing address is: Ojeda for NC P.O. Box 35 Aberdeen, NC 28315   https://ojedafornc.com/ The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense visual information does not imply or constitute DOD endorsement.