By Rajashree Ghosh, Guest Columnist

May 1 or May Day, is Labor (spelled Labour in India) Day in India. This is not to be confused with the distress signal which is a call for help, and is derived from the French word m'aider mainly used by boats and aircrafts via radio to communicate the call for help. The first day of the month of May is an official public holiday every year. India is one of the many countries that celebrates Labor Day each year on May 1. The first Labor Day in the country was organized by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan in Madras on May 1, 1923.

All over the world, May Day continues to symbolize the international struggle of the working class against the capitalist system. It is a day when workers can raise their class demands for unity and against racism, imperialist war, national chauvinism and the entire ruling class. The legacy of May Day provides optimism for future struggles to come. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries and celebrated unofficially in many other countries. However, many countries do not celebrate Labour Day on May 1. In Australia, Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday of October. The United States of America and Canada are also among the exceptions. This, despite the fact that the holiday began in the 1880s in the USA.

Looking at the history of the May 1, the struggle for the eight-hour day began in the 1860s. In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada, organized in 1881 (and changing its name in 1886 to American Federation of Labor ) passed a resolution which asserted that "eight hours shall constitute a legal day's work from and after May 1, 1886, and that we recommend to labor organizations throughout this district that they so direct their laws as to conform to this resolution". The following year the Federation repeated the declaration that an eight-hour system was to go into effect on May 1, 1886. With workers being forced to work ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day, support for the eight-hour movement grew rapidly. In the months prior to May 1, 1886, thousands of workers, organized and unorganized, members of the organization Knights of Labor and of the federation, were drawn into the struggle. Chicago was the main center of the agitation for a shorter day. The anarchists were in the forefront of the Central Labor Union of Chicago, which consisted of 22 unions in 1886, among them the seven largest in the city. International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Event in Chicago in 1886. In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle (1889), following an initiative from the American Federation of Labor, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891. State, business leaders, mainstream union officials, and the media and the United States government declared May 1st to be "Law Day", and gave the workers instead Labor Day, the first Monday of September - a holiday devoid of any historical significance.

Around the world and especially in Asia low paid workers held demonstrations to demand higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions a week after a Bangladesh garment factory building collapse killed hundreds — a grim reminder of how lax safety regulations make going to work a danger in many poor countries. The New York Times reported that factories in Bangladesh, churn out clothing for brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Calvin Klein and H&M. Global retailers like Target and Walmart now operate sourcing offices in Dhaka, the capital. Garments are critical to Bangladesh’s economy, accounting for 80 percent of manufacturing exports and more than three million jobs. The country also has the lowest labor costs in the world, with the minimum wage for garment workers set at roughly $37 a month. During the past two years, as workers have seen their meager earnings eroded by double-digit inflation, protests and violent clashes with the police have become increasingly common.

Reports are coming in about laborers in Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines and elsewhere marched and chanted en masse Wednesday, sounding complaints about being squeezed by big business amid the surging cost of living.

Many of the Asian countries provide the manufacturing ground for world's largest multinational companies. Developing countries in Asia are increasingly attractive to multi-national companies (MNCs) because they enable bargaining power over wages. And cheap labor is central to the low-skilled industry’s growth. Labor costs account for only 1% to 3% of the retail price paid by the final customer, while profit margins are more than 50%. MNCs are able to take advantage of emerging markets in developing countries, and locating production facilities in these countries works to their financial advantage. As MNCs seek to increase market share through expansion - a critical factor in remaining competitive globally they prefer countries that fulfill both of the requirements of low cost production and easy access to emerging markets.

Workers rights are human rights and May 1 is only one day of the year that their voices are allowed to be louder and globally it needs to be a movement linked to wider issues of social change. There is increased need labor standards with American trade policy and for global bodies like the International Labor Organization to become more effective. A steady process of ensuring core labor standards needs to ensure in the spirit of International Worker’s Day.

Rajashree Ghosh is a resident scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University in Waltham.

By Rajashree Ghosh, Guest Columnist

April 15 2013 – how I looked forward to the day on April 14 2013! It was going to be Marathon Monday and my plans were to sit back at home, relax and enjoy the day as it unfolded.

And you know what? It was also the Bengali New Year. Bengalis – are those who belong to the state of West Bengal in India and even those from Bangladesh. Called “Poila Baisakh” or the first day of the month of Baisakh is celebrated with family, sharing the bounties of harvest, making delicacies to welcome the New Year and seeking blessings from those older.

As immigrants we tend to latch onto festivals that can be celebrated abroad where we live without much effort. Some festivals require complicated rituals which unless you gather resources and material, it is hard to pull it off. But Poila Baisakh is always simple and picking up the phone to call or answer calls and wish is the easiest thing to do. It is such a folksy day (unlike other stern, ritualistic festivals) that welcomes all and it is the inclusive nature of the day that makes me happy and I look forward to it every year. It gives me a chance to carry forward some of my traditions and I surprise myself sometimes at the food I whip up like my mother did. As a child watching her cook and helping her around in the kitchen has paid off although at the time of, it was a chore!

In the news early morning I read that US Secretary of State John Kerry sent his Poila Baisakh wishes to the Bengali speaking people across the world. “On behalf of President Obama, I convey my warm greetings to all Bengali speaking people around the world as you celebrate Poila Baisakh. The American people wish you all happiness and prosperity in the New Year,” he said in a statement. Those words made me feel like it was going to be a beautiful day. Some days are just like that.

As I finished my calls to India by late noon, wishing friends and family I was wondering what would be on our festive dinner menu. It must have been around 3 pm that I switched on the news and all channels on TV had a rider at the bottom of the screen saying “breaking news.” What was so urgent that they had to stop regular programming? Maybe the Marathon runners were being felicitated, I thought. I waited for the sound to come on and that is when I realized how ominous the day had turned into.

I looked aghast at the at the plume of smoke and fire as the “explosions” came on, people running injured and crying, the shock on their faces writ large and the police, EMTs scattered on the screen. It took me back to 9/11 and the subsequent fear, shock and devastation. Why? And why Boston? People from all over the world were participating – what a way to target innocent people! Time stood still and all the festive spirit with which the day started for me had completely diminished.

Again calls poured in from India and rest of the country asking if we were safe – and everyone asked about the eight year old Martin who lost his life and his mother and sister have serious injuries. What has the world come to? Who are the people who thrive on killing a child? And innocent by standers supporting and cheering on the runners – what was their fault? In the years that I have spent in and around Boston and made it my home I have never seen anything as violent, despicable and alarming as this. May be DC because it is the political hot seat, maybe New York because of its financial status but never Boston. I made calls to people I know who work and live around Boston and was relieved to learn they were safe but for some it was quite close. Either they walked down Boylston Street minutes before the explosion or they were stopped by the police much before they reached the finish line.

My day changed. If the New Year begins on such a violent note, what is the rest of the year going to be like? I shudder as I keep my eyes peeled on the news updates. Stories of brave men and women helping those injured pour in. Yes we are in mourning – we have lost people – lives and their being. We have lost a way of living and trusting.

What I am sometimes uncertain about is how as a regular law abiding, hard working immigrant am I supposed to mourn? Is there a template that I could follow so I am recognized as a viable mourner? Am I allowed to be part of a shared sense of loss? I see my colleagues share their experiences as Marathon runners, bystanders and just regular people and then write about how “American” it is to help each other in times of distress. At one go, I am shut off from what is going on.

Did I hear that the devices used were packaged in a pressure cooker? It is as common as an oven or a microwave for an American as a pressure cooker is for many cultures and cooking. It even forms part of wedding trousseau because the cookers are sturdy and last a life time just like silverware and dishes in this country.

At this point I am angry that something so cultural has been usurped for a heinous crime. And I want to reclaim that and much, much more. At the time of writing this piece, no one had been found responsible or at least reported. I hope they do find out and soon because we are hurting and need closure.

Understandably, loss is private, personal but when there is breakdown of the normal, let us recognize that bereavement is across family, community, national boundaries and an essential step in rebuilding our lives.

Rajashree Ghosh is a resident scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University in Waltham.

Cambridge Savings Bank recently completed its first ever CSBsmart course at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School in Billerica, engaging the entire senior class, according to a press release.

Superintendent Charlie Lyons required the CSBsmart program of all 323 seniors at the school.

“The practical skills shared will enable our students to be fully prepared for future success," said Lyons.

Evan Diamond, CSB Financial Education program manager, noted that financial education is particularly important for Shawsheen seniors who have already entered the work force.

"These hard-working students now possess the money-management skills to budget and save their money, successfully use a checking account, prevent unmanageable debt, build a favorable credit history, and avoid becoming victims of fraud," said Diamond.

Superintendent Lyons said 54% of his seniors are currently employed in co-op positions as part of their education. Shawsheen students come from numerous communities, including Billerica, Tewksbury, Bedford, Burlington, and Wilmington.

Based on pre- and post-session survey results, the seniors on average gained understanding of more than five new key financial concepts each.

By CHRIS BERGERON
MetroWest Daily News / March 29, 2013

BURLINGTON, Mass. (AP) — In the turn-of-the-century postcard, the big-nosed man with a bushy moustache gazes at needy customers from behind a counter that bears the sign: ‘‘Money to loan at only 10 per cent a month.’’

In another, two gents in top hats warily eye a bearded, big-nosed man carrying a box that identifies him as ‘‘J. Green, Gold Brick.’’

A Jew and lifelong collector of vintage postcards, Frank Levine has found anti-Semitic images like these in antique shops across Europe, flea markets in Brimfield and online on eBay.

‘‘They’re out there if you know where to look,’’ he said from his Malden home. ‘‘This kind of anti-Semitism happened before my lifetime. It’s still happening.’’

Levine, 54, has been collecting postcards most of his life, a passion he inherited from his now-retired father Solomon Levine, who sold them from his home. While Frank Levine focuses on Malden history and Three Stooges memorabilia, he’s acquired numerous postcards, mostly circulated in the U.S., that reveal a casual anti-Semitism featuring stereotypical ideas of how Jews look, act and speak.

Their portrayal of Jews is never subtle: Jews have big noses, thick lips, beards and forelocks. They’re usurers or pawnbrokers selling over-priced, damaged goods in fire sales. They speak with European accents and wear yarmulkes. There are jokes about circumcision and eating pork.

Printed in Germany, England and the United States, most of Levine’s anti-Semitic cards were mailed in the U.S. bearing everyday messages with few references to the images.

He also has memorabilia showing how the Walt Disney company got into the act with a miniature bank called ‘‘The Gelt,’’ a Yiddish word for money. To save money, children could drop coins into a blue figure’s big nose.

On the weekend of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Levine will be showing for the first time more than 25 anti-Semitic postcards in temples in Natick and Burlington.

He'll be appearing as part of Holocaust Memorial Day programs with death camp survivor Edgar Krasa, of Newton, and author and filmmaker Susie Davidson on April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Temple Shalom Emeth in Burlington and on April 7, at 7 p.m. at Temple Israel in Natick.

Davidson will discuss her book, ‘‘The Music Man of Terezin: The Story of Rafael Schaechter’’ which she wrote with Krasa.

Levine said he would be showing the postcards as a reminder anti-Semitism thrived in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Nazi Germany.

‘‘If a Jew gets cut, we all bleed,’’ said Levine. ‘‘I think people are right when they say, ‘Never forget.’ ‘‘

He was named for his late uncle, Frank Levine, who was a navigator on the refugee ship Exodus that attempted to carry Holocaust survivors from France to what later became Israel in 1947.

Levine took out a postcard printed by F.W. Dunbar in 1906 that portrays a stereotypical Jewish merchant with a beard and prominent nose holding a banner with a picture of a burning building over the logo ‘Our Friend.’ A fire truck races toward the scene above the caption ‘‘Our enemy.’’

‘‘That’s fairly typical. It plays on the idea of Jewish merchants selling shoddy goods they got at fire sales,’’ said Levine.

Krasa, who grew up in Prague and survived four years in the detention camp at Terezin and Auschwitz concentration camp, said he couldn’t generalize about anti-Semitism in the U.S. But he noted years ago his son wasn’t allowed to caddy in a country club that excluded Jews.

‘‘Anti-Semitism persists in many ways,’’ said the 92-year-old Newton resident, ‘‘but it’s not always in the open.’’

© Copyright 2013 Globe Newspaper Company.