Statement of Grassroots Women on Mothers’ Day, May 11, 2008
by Grassroots Women

On the occasion of Grassroots Women’s 5th annual Mother’s Day March and Rally, working class mothers and supporters are taking to the streets to reclaim the political roots of the day in traditions of working class women’s organizing.

 

By doing so, we advance our resistance to the system of imperialism that prioritizes war and plunder over childcare; that tears apart the families of migrant workers who are exploited as cheap and disposable labour; that exploits the labour of working class women who continue to feed, clothe, care for and educate our children and communities while blaming individual women who are unable to buffer their children from the harsh realities of this unjust system.

 

These injustices cannot be glossed over by the glib commercial celebration of the Hallmark Mother’s Day that holds little relevance for moms without status, moms facing deportation, aboriginal moms, immigrant moms, migrant moms, moms without jobs, moms without housing, moms on welfare, moms without childcare, moms whose kids have been taken away, moms with bad jobs, moms at school, moms facing violence, moms facing war and poverty, moms in prison and all working class mothers.

With fewer than 10% of Canadian children in licensed childcare, there is no question that lack of access to affordable childcare constitutes a crisis in this country. And beyond this, working class mothers in Canada are finding it increasingly difficult to survive while neo-liberal policies and inequality in the workplace continue to stream women into low-wage, flexible, part-time or casual jobs. Increasing costs of housing, public transportation, education and other basic necessities hit working-class and other marginalized women and their families hard.

Yet instead of responding to this crisis, Canada has long relied on the exploitative Live-in Caregiver Program as this country’s de facto childcare program, separating primarily Third World women from their own families, bringing them to work in the homes of wealthy Canadian families while working-class Canadian women are denied access to affordable, accessible childcare.

The pain of family separation experienced by migrant and immigrant mothers will only increase as Canada seeks to “modernize” its immigration system, making it easier for employers to order up migrant workers when the demand is great and dispose of them at will. Yet despite the importance of their labour, the precarious situation of migrant workers who are denied citizenship rights and live under constant threat of deportation leaves little to celebrate this Mother’s Day, especially for those mothers who are forced to leave their children in order to provide for their basic needs or mothers whose Canadian-born or raised children continue to experience the impacts of their mothers’ systemic marginalization and exploitation.


The origins of Mothers’ Day stand in stark opposition to the sentimental and commercial sentiments now commonly associated with the day. Following the American Civil War, women such as Anna Jarvis and Julia Ward Howe worked to establish Mother’s Day in recognition of women’s struggles to raise their children under horrible health conditions and to advance the powerful anti-war and anti-conscription voices of working-class women unwilling to see their children served up as fodder for war profiteers. This tradition continued after 1914, the year Mothers’ Day was nationally recognized in the US, as women mobilized against conscription and an imperialist war that left so many of their family members dead or maimed.

As mothers, childcare workers, domestic workers, children, and supporters, we aim to continue this tradition and connect the individual struggles of our families with the need for fundamental economic, political and social change. We stand in solidarity with working class mothers around the world and with all women who struggle for justice in a rich tradition of resistance that will be the inheritance of future generations.

Scrap the racist and anti-woman Live-in Caregiver Program!
Genuine Universal Childcare now!
Justice for migrant and immigrant mothers!
Mothers of the world say no to imperialist war and plunder!
Reclaim Mothers’ Day!

 

Grassroots Women – Mothers’ Day 2008

March and Rally: “Working-class Mothers Resist Imperialism! Justice for all Mothers!”

 
Join us for this child-friendly event. Everyone welcome in showing support for: moms without status, moms facing deportation, aboriginal moms, immigrant moms, migrant moms, moms without jobs, moms without housing, moms on welfare, moms without childcare, moms whose kids have been taken away, moms with bad jobs, moms at school, moms facing violence, moms facing war and poverty, moms in prison and all working-class mothers…
 

Sunday, May 11, 2008 Rally at: McSpadden Park, (5th Ave. and Victoria Dr.) at 12:30 p.m.

Hear speakers share how mothers are resisting all over the world! Political balloons for the kids!

 
March to Trout Lake (East 13th Ave. and Victoria Dr.) for 2 p.m.
Testimonials from mothers and open mic for those who wish to share their experiences or make a dedication to your mother and all mothers!

 
This event is endorsed by: Café Rebelde Collective, Hospital Employees Union, Philippine Women Centre of BC, SIKLAB-BC (Advance and Uphold the Rights of Overseas Filipino Workers), Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance, Filipino Nurses Support Group, Seattle Radical Women, No One Is Illegal-Vancouver, Alliance for People’s Health, Investing in Health Forum, B.C., Public Service Alliance of Canada – Vancouver Area Council, PSAC-Vancouver Regional Women’s Committee, BC Government and Services Employees’ Union – Human Rights Committee, and PIVOT legal society.
 

Grassroots Women
1115B E. Hastings (entrance on Glen)
Vancouver, BC V6A 1S3

web: www3.telus.net/grassrootswomen
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

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