San Jose marches for workers and immigrant rights on May Day
San Jose, CA – On May 1, 1500 people gathered in East San Jose for the annual San Jose May Day march. This year marked 20 years since May Day was revived in the United States with the 2006 immigrant rights megamarches in protest of the racist, anti-immigrant Sensenbrenner bill. This year, the May Day march began at the intersection of Story and King, an historic center of the Chicano community in San Jose and the same starting location as the 2006 march.
Local singer and songwriter Miguel Trujillo kicked off the opening rally with several songs about the struggles of workers and immigrants.
Louie Rocha, one of the original lead organizers of the 2006 May Day march and retired CWA worker, spoke to the crowd, “Over 200,000 marched and that march started from right here at Story and King Roads. The thousands of marchers included workers, mothers, fathers, families, students, small business owners, to support a fair immigration policy and to also demand respect for those that toil for jobs and services that are least desired.”
“Millions more marched across the country that day. On that day young and old were united. On that day every color in our community was present and marched united for justice. The people watched over the people. HR 4437 ultimately did not pass Congress. We need to keep organizing,” Rocha continued.
This year, as in 2006, the May Day march was joined by walkouts by hundreds of high school students. In all, seven San Jose high schools held walkouts to join the march.
Jonathan Soria, one of the leading student organizers for the walkouts, spoke to the crowd at Story and King, “As a first generation Mexican American, who comes from a background of hard-working immigrants, I am here to say: this country was built by immigrants, and they are here to stay – este país fue construido por inmigrantes, y están aquí para quedarse.”
Soria continued, “My parents as well as many other immigrants went through so much in hopes of giving their children a chance at life that they never received. We are tired of the racism that we have endured in this country. The oppression we have suffered. So now we are here to let it be known that we will no longer tolerate the same treatment. Going forward we will continue to make our voices heard and fight for our people.”
Jessica Aviles from Community Service Organization San Jose stated, “We are currently facing an administration that’s pitting the working class against each other. They cut federal funding towards resources like medical, SNAP benefits and many more that are necessary to our communities and increase funding for ICE and DHS who are terrorizing our immigrant communities.”
Aviles continued, “They’re doing all of this while telling us that the immigrants are at fault when in reality it’s just an excuse for the system that is failing us all. We may ask ourselves, why are they trying to keep us apart? The answer is plain and simple – because when we fight, we win. We all have to keep showing up because the fight is far from over. We have to be there for our communities so they can remain strong.”
The crowd marched from Story and King to San Jose City Hall, stopping along the way for chanting and more speeches. There were many union contingents, including ATU 265, SEIU 2015, LiUNA 270, CWA District 9, California Fast Food Workers Union, UFCW 5, and the South Bay Labor Council. The crowd changed, “ICE out!” and “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!” People waved a variety of flags, from Mexico, to Palestine, to Iran.
At San Jose City Hall, the program continued as attendees checked out resource tables from local community organizations. The event concluded with cultural performances, including folkorico dancers and live music.
San Jose May Day is organized annually by the San Jose May Day Coalition.