San Jose, CA – 100 people rallied to demand justice for the vendors of the Berryessa Flea Market in San Jose on June 3. Vendors' jobs are at risk since the Berryessa Urban Village Plan aims to do away with the 120-acre area the flea market has resided in for over 60 years.
Protesters demand legalization for all, jail killer cops!
Los Angeles, CA – For the sixth consecutive year, Centro CSO held their May Day march and rally in Boyle Heights. Main demands were “Legalization for all” and “Jail killer cops.”
Milwaukee, WI – In spite of gusts of wind in excess of 50 miles per hour, more than 250 people marched from the office of Wisconsin’s premier immigrant rights organization, Voces de la Frontera, to the office of reactionary U.S. Senator Ron Johnson on the afternoon of May 1. The focus of the march was on essential immigrant workers.
Grand Rapids, MI – West Michigan labor unions joined by community and social justice groups celebrated International Workers Day on May 1 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
New York, NY – Around 400 people gathered in Union Square on a sunny afternoon of May 1, International Workers Day. Dozens of organizations based in New York came together to not only celebrate workers and our struggles, but to call for the general demands of unionizing and organizing all workers, immediate asylum for all migrants, abolishing ICE and stopping police terror.
San Jose, CA – More than 500 people marched through downtown San Jose for the annual May Day event. On one side of the street, hundreds of cars carrying Mexican flags and flags of the United Farm Workers Union drove by and honked in support. The May Day Coalition of San Jose organized the march and invited dozens of speakers from various community and labor organizations to raise issues important to their community. The community groups marched from Roosevelt Park to San Jose City Hall.
Minneapolis, MN – On a hot 87-degree afternoon, a large crowd assembled at the starting location for the International Workers Day march that was hosted by a large coalition of union, immigrant rights groups and other progressive organizations in the Twin Cities area.
El Primero de Mayo empezó como una celebración de la clase obrera y su lucha heroica después de la brutal violencia de la policía en el año 1886. Los trabajadores que manifestaron en Haymarket lucharon en contra condiciones de trabajo bien peor y por una campana de un día de trabajo por ocho horas. Los atacaron la policía, con muchos trabajadores heridos y muertos, muchos de ellos eran inmigrantes, resultado de un evento infamoso llamado la masacre de Haymarket. El estado de Illinois tuvo un juicio y ejecutó cuatro líderes laborales, siempre recordado como los Mártires de Haymarket. Todavía, el espíritu de este día, el primer Primero de Mayo vive y está celebrado alrededor del mundo cada año.
International Workers Day is celebrated on May 1. Around the world, workers have accomplished many great things over the past year that we can be proud of. The ruling class, made up of monopoly capitalists, have tried their best to keep profits high at the expense of the people during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we’ve seen time and time again that the people can rise above the obstacles created by the 1% and bring about real change. On May Day 2021, it is important to reflect on the past year. We must also renew our efforts to end the rule of the monopoly capitalists and replace their broken, failed system with a system that benefits not the few but the majority of people – socialism.