Minneapolis, MN – On Saturday, April 29, over 100 activists from mass movements around the Twin Cities area came together at the office of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Education Support Professionals Local 59 to celebrate International Workers Day, and another year in struggle across the movements in the streets, and the movement for socialism. The location was fitting for such an event because the Teachers and Educators in Minneapolis Public Schools spent more than three weeks on strike only one year ago. The room was packed and boisterous. The speeches were lively. The night closed with a performance of The Internationale, which started with a cello and violin duo, then the entire crowd joining in for the singing of the historic song.

The following speech was derived by Olivia Crull, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization Twin Cities:

“Greetings friends and comrades, my name is Olivia Crull. I’m an organizer with the MN Abortion Action Committee, I’m a member of UFCW local 663, and tonight, I get to represent an incredible organization that is fighting across the people’s movements for justice and actively building for a future where working people have the power, and that is Freedom Road Socialist Organization! How are we all feeling celebrating one of the best holidays of the year: International Workers Day?

“The way that the international working class celebrates May Day is something that really moved me when I was first finding my footing in the organizing world – really shaped my understanding of our shared struggles and our collective power. It’s a day that the labor movement shows out in full force to say that it's the workers, not the bosses, certainly not the greedy capitalists, that create all the wealth in this country and around the world. It’s a day with a revolutionary character that was reignited by the immigrant rights movement here in the U.S., when thousands marched in the streets with an understanding that solidarity cannot be limited by borders, by legal status, and that we're so much stronger when we fight for all workers. It’s a day that we’re reminded in every space that we organize, in every movement we represent, that there’s a political necessity for working class leadership, for our demands to advance the conditions and fighting power of the working class. Because otherwise, what exactly are we fighting for?

“And I want to give an example of that from my own work, because as we all know, this year has been a historic one in terms of our enemies mounting attacks on reproductive freedom and gender expression. We should recognize the overturning of Roe for what it is, fundamentally: an attack on the working class and oppressed people in this country. The rich will always have access to abortion. That has never been a question. When we fight for abortion rights, we’re fighting to secure healthcare for our class, the working class, and we’re fighting to win back a fundamental human right that the masses of people never conceded. And to me that feels representative of so many movements we’ve heard about tonight, from the day to day conditions we face on the job, the rights of immigrants to live and work in this country without fear, the self-determinative power of our communities to control how they are policed, the solidarity we show with people across the globe in opposing U.S. imperialism, the right to breathe clean air and live in communities that are free from toxic pollution – it’s all part of defending and advancing the rights of workers from a capitalist class that is constantly testing the limits of what they can take from us.

“But we’re not only interested in defending ourselves, right? Or settling for scraps from a group of people that have never worked a real day in their lives. When we look at how the system of capitalism is set up, we can see that by design, it will never benefit working people. Capitalism ensures that we will never be paid the full value of our labor, because otherwise, the capitalist wouldn’t turn a profit, and profit is the thing that drives every single decision they make. We live under a system where things like healthcare, housing, basic human needs are weighed against the question of how costly they are, how much revenue they can generate, and the incentive of the capitalist class will always be to accumulate more and more wealth, even at the expense of human lives.

“And we can't talk capitalism without talking about its origins, how this system was built on the stolen labor of enslaved African Americans, on the theft of land and the genocide of indigenous peoples. Today, capitalism continues to exploit and oppress Black, Chicano and indigenous people as a way to maintain itself, to further enrich itself. It is impossible to separate the foundations of capitalism from how it exists today.

“Freedom Road Socialist Organization understands that this economic system, which is fundamentally rotten to the core, which enacts so much violence and destruction on the people and the planet -  well, it has to be go. It must be overthrown. We see that a future is possible where working people run our society so that it functions to meet the needs of the many and not just the monetary desires of the few. Where working people don’t just have a say or a seat at the table, but we have full control over our economy, our political system, our futures, all of it.

“And it’s going to take a lot of things to get us there. It’s going to take all the people who live under the boot of capitalism to rise up, which isn’t just something to wish for, but something that has to be built through struggle and a strategic alliance between the multinational working class and oppressed nationalities. It’s going to take constant political action and a willingness to fight, which I see here tonight in this room, without a doubt. It’s going to take a highly organized party of the working class to lead the people towards socialism, and this is what we in Freedom Road are building.

“So I invite you to join us as we continue to organize and fight for better conditions for working and oppressed people, not just on May Day, but every day of the year. I invite you to get involved in our organization, which has not only a vision for what a better world can look like, but a road map towards revolution provided to us by decades of struggle, by the example of successful socialist revolutions around the world which have lifted millions of people out of poverty. We look to them, especially on May Day, the holiday of international socialist tradition, to see what is possible. We, in the belly of the beast, have a duty to overthrow our oppressors.

“To put it simply, we have a world to win!

“Monday May 1 is International Workers Day, also referred to as May Day. A large May Day March will begin at 4 p.m. at the Adult Education Center and English Second Language School on East Lake Street in South Minneapolis in honor of the day.”

#MinneapolisMN #May1 #Socialism

Detroit, MI – Hundreds gathered despite near freezing rain on May 1 at Clark Park in Southwest Detroit. This park in the primarily Chicano and immigrant section of Detroit has been the host of several May Day events over the years in coordination with that community and in recognition of the 2006 U.S. boycott and “day without an immigrant” strike.

This May Day event was the result of a cooperation between progressive, labor, and oppressed nationality groups not seen in several years, culminating in the creation of an ongoing “May Day Coalition.” In addition to many cultural performances, members from a variety of organizations spoke including, GEO (Graduate Employee’s Organization), UAW, Teamsters, SEIU, Fight for 15, PSL, Freedom Road Socialist Organizaion, CPUSA, SDS, PYM – Detroit (Palestinian Youth Movement), MECAWI (Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice), and Anakbayan Detroit.

The connections between workers struggles across the world was a recurring theme.

Mixx Hernandez of Anakbayan Detroit pointed out, “Today is International Workers Day and it would be careless not to acknowledge how U.S. imperialism is exploiting people and workers across the globe, enacting violence, using our hard-earned money to do so. So now we ask again, where is all of this money going to? Well I can give you a little hint. Today, right at this very moment the U.S. government is meeting with the Philippine government in a blatant attempt to ramp up militarization for yet another pointless war, this time against China!”

The speaker for the Palestinian Youth Movement – Detroit said, “Palestinian workers have a longstanding history of resistance. On May 18, 2021, we saw Palestinian workers in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, along with the Palestinians in occupied Palestine join together with their compatriots in the diaspora as the widely observed Dignity Strike. This general strike fits into a much longer history of mobilization by Palestinian workers, recalling previous general strikes from 1936 and 1976.”

Sean Crawford, a UAW member, spoke on the historic opportunity presented by the grassroots victories in the UAW and Teamsters of militant union leadership, the recent victory of the first independent union of GM workers in Mexico, the upcoming concurrent expiration of Big Three contracts in the U.S. and Canada, and the impending UPS Teamsters strike, saying “We have not had this opportunity to coordinate and organize internationally since the 1990s, and with the left-wing caucuses in charge of our unions I think we will be able to take advantage of that and not allow these companies to whipsaw our unions.”

After the rally, attendees took the streets in a march through the main roads and through the neighborhoods with chants such as “From Palestine to Mexico, border walls have got to go!”, “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight back!,” “Black lives matter!” “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” and when the Detroit Police encroached on the march, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, fuck 12!”

#DetroitMI #May1 #Socialism

Tallahassee, FL – On Saturday, April 29, around 25 community members gathered for an International Workers Day rally at the Smokey Hollow Memorial, organized by the Tallahassee Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). International Workers Day, otherwise known as May Day, was born out of the struggle for the eight-hour workday here in the U.S. and is celebrated by working class people all over the world.

Regina Joseph, member of the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), spoke on the current situation facing working-class people in Florida, saying, “Everywhere we look Ron DeSantis is doing something new and creatively evil to attack our class – to attack the working class and oppressed people.”

The current legislative session has been one of the most brutal in Florida’s recent history. DeSantis and conservatives in the Florida legislature continued their attacks on reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, culminating in the passage of a harsh six-week abortion ban. In regard to the local situation, Joseph highlighted the city’s recent proposal to increase property taxes in order to fund a 14% budget increase for the Tallahassee Police Department.

Conservative attacks have also increased in the arena of public education, most recently with House Bill 999 which seeks to eradicate ethnic studies, multicultural student groups, and entire course subjects like women’s and gender studies.

Recently, Florida State University Students for a Democratic Society (FSU SDS) has been organizing on campus demanding university President Richard McCollough commit to defending these programs and opposing DeSantis’ assault on public education. “All of these attacks are a reaction to the progress that we’ve made. Roe v. Wade was overturned because the Supreme Court saw that there was overwhelming support for abortion and reproductive rights. They are trying to attack us because of the power they saw during the George Floyd rebellion in 2020,” said Cas Casanova, president of FSU SDS.

In the working-class internationalist spirit of May Day, leftist musical performances were held in between speeches. TCAC member Isabel Ruano performed El Pueblo Unido, a Chilean socialist song, as well as a powerful anti-femicide song from Mexico. Community member Paddy League performed a union hymn from Brazil.

Organized labor is under threat in Florida as a bill makes its way through the legislature that would ban automatic payroll deduction of dues for public sector union members and require public sector unions to maintain 60% membership or risk decertification. The FSU Graduate Assistants United (FSU GAU) has been organizing and pushing back against anti-union legislation. “Labor really needs to shift focus and understand that there’s a bigger struggle at play here – a struggle for power within the workplace against the employers and against the administration,” said Dennis Houlihan, the bargaining chair of FSU GAU.

In Tallahassee and across the country, working and oppressed people are organizing and deepening the struggle against capitalism and reaction despite the ruling class’ attempts at stifling the people's movements. Various sectors of people are coming together to unite all that can be united and to defeat their common enemy: monopoly capitalism. The days of rule of the 1% are numbered. Every day more and more people are becoming fed up with living under the boot of monopoly capitalism.

Closing out the rally, Delilah Pierre, an organizer with the FRSO perfectly encapsulated the spirit of May Day, saying, “We do have power to organize. We do have power to stand up against the oppressive systems that try to crush us to the ground! Because if there’s no opportunity for reform in our system, then our only option is revolution!”

#TallahasseeFL #May1 #Socialism

Denver, CO – On May 1, about 300 rank-and-file union members, activists and members of the community came together at the Colorado State Capitol to celebrate International Workers Day, or May Day. This worker holiday originated in the United States, and commemorates the Haymarket Affair of 1886, where protesters fighting for an eight-hour workday were attacked and killed by police.

About 22 different unions were represented at the festivities, which included passionate speeches, live music, and a march from the State Capitol to Stoney's Bar and Grill, stopping between the Denver Public Library Central Branch and the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center, where two key unions represented by CWA Local 7799 are located: DPL Workers United and Defender’s Union of Colorado.

Many speakers talked about the significance of this event and the importance of organizing in solidarity. Brandon Gehrke-Quintanilla, a member of United Campus Workers and Students for a Democratic Society states, “May Day fought for the eight-hour workday, that was not something handed over, that was something we won as working people because we organized together in solidarity.”

The event had an emphasis on “reclaiming” May Day, which many speakers talked about the importance of. Keegan Estrella, a member of the Teamsters Local 455 and Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said in his speech, “May Day is a working class holiday that is a celebration of the majority of people not just in this country, but in the entire world. It’s no wonder this celebration is being watered down, ignored, because the owning class is scared of the power of working people getting together to celebrate their history.” He also said, “reclaiming May Day means remembering the fight is not over, it means realizing we have to get organized to fight against our enemies!”

After the speeches, the group marched to the Denver Public Library and the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center, chanting in the streets about working class power. The march ended at Stoney’s Bar and Grill, where the participants celebrated a successful event that brought many organizations together.

Other unions and community groups that took part in the demonstration included United Campus Workers of Colorado, Students for a Democratic Society at Auraria Campus, CSU Grad Workers Organizing Coop, Starbucks Workers United, Colorado Musicians Union, Colorado Education Association, Alphabet Workers Union, Teamsters Local 455, Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee, SEIU 105, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

#DenverCO #May1

Seattle, WA – On May 1, around 500 workers and activists gathered to celebrate May Day, at the annual march and rally held by El Comité and the May 1st Action Coalition.

The rally began at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, where attendees heard from immigrants, labor leaders, indigenous groups and community members on the 137th anniversary of International Workers Day.

Felicitas (Feli) Hernandez, a prep lead at Homegrown sandwiches and a member of Unite HERE Local 8, took the stage soon after the event kicked off. Workers at Homegrown have been fighting for a strong contract with the company for the last several months. “Tomorrow we will be presenting our economic demands to the company and we want to send a clear message: Respect us and pay us what we deserve!” proclaimed Hernandez, speaking through an interpreter. An immigrant herself, Hernandez also spoke out about the protections Homegrown workers have been fighting for to protect immigrants in the contract, which include translation and barring the company from working with ICE.

After the first speakers, the march began towards Denny Park, passing through the heart of Seattle and the Amazon sphere buildings. Chants of “Long live international solidarity” and “What's disgusting? Union busting!” rang out from the crowd. A large contingent organized by FRSO Seattle also led chants calling to “Free Alex Saab,” a Venezuelan diplomat being held illegally in the U.S.

At Denny Park, speeches continued with rank-and-file Teamster Dean Matthews speaking about the upcoming fight with UPS when the national contract expires in July. “This is going to be a defining moment, not just for the Teamsters, but the whole working class!” declared Matthews. Speakers also talked about the upcoming APEC conference, a meeting of top corporate and government officials from the U.S. and Asian-Pacific countries which is coming to Seattle in August. “We are going to protest and fight back against APEC for the whole three weeks they are here,” said Jess Rojas, from Pacific Northwest People over Profit.

The May Day celebration will continue on May 7 with a panel on labor and immigrant organizing hosted by FRSO Seattle. Organizers there will be sharing about their local campaigns and plans to continue fighting back on the shop floor and the streets.

#SeattleWA #May1 #Socialism

Los Angeles, CA – For the eighth year in a row, Centro Community Service Organization (CSO) held their May Day march and rally in Boyle Heights. Over 50 people gathered to commemorate International Workers Day and to uplift the demands of legalization for all the undocumented, protecting public education, and community control of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. The event was emceed by David Pulido of Orange County CSO and Juliana Castellón of Centro CSO.

Sol Marquez, member of Centro CSO and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), kicked off the rally with the demand for socialism and self-determination for Chicanos in the United States: “Long live the proletariat – the working class of this country who makes the entire profit for the rich, the profit that is stolen from us. Enough is enough!”

Rallygoers held a banner representing the Teamsters Local 396, and member Jared Hamil spoke about the upcoming contract fight with UPS and the conditions that the workers face on a daily basis. “UPS trucks don’t have ACs in them. Last week I clocked the inside of my truck at 120 degrees,” stated Hamil, who then reminded the crowd about Esteban Chavez, a UPS worker who died in Pasadena last year of a heat related illness while on the job. “That’s why come August 1, you may see 360,000 workers go on strike,” Hamil declared.

Other speakers and supporters at the rally included Orange County CSO, Baba Aikili of BLM-LA, Movimiento Oaxaqueño Migrante (MOM), Teamsters Local 396, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), teachers and students from Torres High School, Eastside Padres Contra la Privatización, Resistencia Comunitaria, and MEChA at Roosevelt High School.

As the march began, chants of “What do killer cops mean? We got to fight back!” “La policía, la migra, la misma porquería!” “El pueblo, unido, jamás será vencido!” filled the streets.

The marchers arrived at the Hollenbeck LAPD station. Member of Centro CSO Luis Sifuentes condemned sexual predator Eric Uller, a volunteer for the Police Activities League in Santa Monica who was allowed to abuse over 200 children in Chicano neighborhoods since the 1980s, highlighting the conflict between the people’s needs and police policy. “FTP to these child molesting killer cops,” said Sifuentes. “We need something that gives more power into the people’s hands. Where we have the power to control their budgets, to have hiring and firing power over these fucking pigs, right?”

Jesus “Chuy” Chavez spoke on the California Highway Patrol murder of his brother, Leonel Chavez. Leonel was killed by CHP officers on September 28, 2021. CHP was investigating a car crash but instead of rendering aid to Chavez, they shot him eight times. “It took two years to get the autopsy report,” Chavez said. “It’s clear that they’re trying to cover something up. They’re trying to save their ass from going to jail.” Thanking the protesters, Chavez said, “Lotta people don’t care about low-income people, people in the hood. We gotta continue these fights and not give up.”

The marchers continued to Mariachi Plaza, where they enjoyed a theater performance by LA artist group Resistencia Comunitaria. The performance dramatized the history of labor struggle and national oppression in the U.S., stretching from the Haywood Market Affair of 1886 and the martyred workers, to the modern day fight against privatization and police brutality.

Antonia Montes, public school teacher at Eastman Avenue Elementary and member of Centro CSO, spoke about the attacks on education made by charter schools. She highlighted the spread of charters in East LA, and how public funding is being diverted to charter schools. On protecting public education, Montes stated “as Centro CSO Education Committee we are there to fight back! And to make sure that in East LA we stay organized to keep our rights.”

A member of the Centro CSO Immigration Committee called on the Biden administration to end Title 42 and to demand legalization for all undocumented people in this country. Recalling the Legalization for All delegation to Tijuana, he described the ongoing construction of the border wall. Originally built at 15 feet tall, the wall will now be built to 30 feet under the Biden administration, because it was determined that at 30 feet “death or serious bodily injury is going to occur from falling.” He then called on the Biden administration to stop construction of the border wall, “a cruel punishment that is happening to our people.”

Plans are to continue with the Boyle Heights tradition and if you are interested in helping and participating, reach out to CSO at (323) 484-8630 or @MayDayBoyleHeights on Instagram or Facebook.

#LosAngelesCA #ChicanoLatino #May1

Tampa, FL – On Sunday April 30, 40 people protested outside the Hillsborough School Employees Federation union hall against the recent passage of union-busting legislation aimed at public sector workers and to mark International Workers Day.

The week before, the Florida House passed HB 1445, which will create a requirement for public-sector unions to have a membership rate of 60%. After Governor Rob DeSantis signs the bill into law, public sector unions have one year to meet this requirement or be decertified. Several of the groups represented were public-sector unions including the Hillsborough County Teachers Association, the University of South Florida Graduate Assistants Union, and AFSCME Local 3342.

AFSCME Local 3342 President Robert Chapman promised, “DeSantis and his cronies think they've got the fix in on our unions, they don't realize they're sitting on a powder keg. Labor is going to fight back and reclaim the place it held decades ago.”

Another reason the bill was nicknamed the union-busting bill on protesters’ signs is its removal of automatic dues deduction from paychecks. This is another barrier to raising union membership to 60%. However, Hillsborough County Teacher’s Association vowed to fight to keep their members and sign up more.

Also speaking at the event was Chrisley Carpio, a recently fired USF employee and member of the Tampa 5, who are facing felony charges stemming from a police attack on a protest held at the University of South Florida on March 6.

Carpio stated, “HB 1445 is only one part of the outrageous agenda that the Florida GOP has enacted this legislative session. I was arrested and charged for daring to stand in the way of another reactionary bill, HB 999, which threatens to do away with diversity programs, ethnic studies and multicultural student organizations on campus. The common thread here is that DeSantis wants to turn the clock back 70, 80 years, spitting directly in the face of millions of Floridians.”

Other groups speaking included Tampa Students for a Democratic Society, Tampa Bay Community Action Committee, and the Tampa district of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization who spoke out against the unjust imprisonment of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab.

Demonstration attendees vowed to continue the fight to rekindle the labor movement in the face of all-out attacks from the state.

#TampaFL #May1

Milwaukee, WI – As has been the case all spring across the Midwest, cold rain and winds greeted hundreds of youth, workers and trade unionists, community organizers and faith leaders on May 1 as they gathered outside the headquarters of Voces de la Frontera (VDLF) for their annual May Day “Day Without Latinx and Immigrants'' action. All told, more than 400 people joined the ensuing march that ended downtown at Zeidler Square.

The primary demands of this year's rally and march related to a number of campaigns being organized by VDLF and their student arm, Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES). These demands include drivers licenses for all, in-state tuition for all, school lunch justice in Milwaukee Public Schools, and an end to 287G, a section of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to deputize selected state and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law.

The program featured many speakers. Attendees heard stories from community members about their journey to win their citizenship or the path that led them to seek asylum from violence in their home countries. Others spoke from backgrounds in organized labor, community organizing against police crimes, the youth movement representing both K12 and university students, and the faith community. All related their specific struggles to those of the immigrant and Latinx community which VDLF represents.

The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression joined the action and spoke about the case of Roberto Zielinski, a man of Puerto Rican descent murdered by a Milwaukee police officer in 2021.

“We demanded the release of the footage, but the police held it for almost 50 days. And when they released it, it was heavily edited. So, we decided to put pressure on the city to create a policy requiring that video footage be publicly released within 15 days and for next of kin to have access to the footage within 48 hours. After two years, this policy passed two weeks ago, and it officially goes into effect today!” said Alan Chavoya, the outreach chair of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression.

Chavoya continued, “For too long, the police in this city have mistreated our people, and they have been especially brutal against working-class African Americans. This policy will go a long way in making the police think twice before they act violently against us. We must recognize this as a triumph by and for the people of Milwaukee. But, as we say in the Alliance, the struggle continues.”

“The racist republicans in Wisconsin are taking aim at Milwaukee. They are trying to force Milwaukee to spend even more money on the police, money that the city doesn’t have because it’s about to go bankrupt. They say that police stop crime. Crime rates have actually gone up the more the city funds the police,” Chavoya stated. “You know what actually brings crime rates down? Better schools for the youth, better access to good health services, safe recreational opportunities, public services, and good union jobs! Today is International Workers Day, and we know that when the working class thrives, all our people thrive! For the working class to live well, we need strong communities capable of holding the police accountable!”

Another speaker, Ryan Hamann, represented the recently formed Coalition to Save St. Francis Hospital, a united front of labor, community, and faith-based organizers to challenge the Catholic non-profit healthcare giant Ascension and their efforts to shut down vital services at Saint Francis. The initial formation of the coalition was prompted by the Christmas-time shuttering of the labor and delivery unit at Saint Francis, the only unit of its style serving Milwaukee's primarily Latino and immigrant community on the Near South Side.

“The fact is Ascension is peddling racism when they close down essential services at hospitals like Saint Francis or Saint Joe's on the North Side, hospitals that serve Black and brown communities, while simultaneously investing in facilities in the rich white suburbs around Milwaukee,” Hamann said. “This is a pattern elsewhere where Ascension does business. But unlike in other places, Saint Francis has a union with a leadership willing to join together with the community to fight back!”

The final speaker of the afternoon was Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the executive director of Voces de la Frontera. She gave a wide-ranging speech that grounded the crowd in the history of May Day before diving into particulars about victories won and struggles to wage.

“May 1 is the day for solidarity with workers, and it has become a day of solidarity with immigrant workers and their families. It was 17 years ago today, in 2006, when mass mobilizations defeated Representative Sensenbrenner's bill that would've criminalized immigration, and it birthed the modern immigrants rights movement. And you that are here today stand in the same tradition as those immigrant workers in 1886 in Bayview here in Milwaukee who gave their lives fighting for better conditions,” Neumann-Ortiz said.

She continued, “This year we celebrate a victory, a product of our struggle. And that is deferred action for undocumented workers whose rights have been violated. With this new one right, similar to DACA, it provides drivers licenses, Social Security numbers, and work visas. And this is a struggle that Voces is now starting and will continue to grow so that workers can be empowered by these newly won rights.”

“On May 11, we celebrate the lifting of Title 42, a shameful Trump era program that violated international human rights and has been blocking asylum seekers from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean from entering. And that racist order will finally be lifted because of us!” said Neumann-Ortiz. “We are here to send a message to all those in government and corporate America that we demand respect, and, lastly, we’re here to call on President Biden to use his executive orders to end 287G, extend temporary protected status, and create a pathway to citizenship. We will not stop fighting until we win!”

#MilwaukeeWI #May1 #Socialism

Minneapolis, MN – On May 1, International Workers Day, approximately 500 people marched in support of immigrant workers, unions and indigenous sovereignty, in the East Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis.

On a very windy day, hundreds gathered together in front of the Minneapolis Public Schools Adult Education Center, where just over a year ago the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers were striking. The crowd listened to speakers including Rachel Thunder from the American Indian Movement, William Martinez of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Greg King of the Interfaith Coalition on Immigration, and Marcia Howard of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers.

Alex Provan of the University of Minnesota Grad Labor Union-United Electrical spoke about the fight for a union for graduate student workers. This group has been attempting to unionize since 1974, and finally after four attempts, just this past week 97% of workers voted yes, creating a new 4000-member union in Minnesota.

For the second part of the May Day rally, the group took to the streets for a march. From the bed of a white truck, a young woman yelled into the microphone, “There is only one solution.” The crowds of people following the truck respond in unison, “Workers lead the revolution!” Another chant was, “What do we want? Legalization for all! When do we want it? Now!” An energized group marched through the streets receiving much support for neighbors and those driving by.

The march ended at the Roof Depot site, where indigenous residents of Little Earth, other East Phillips neighborhood residents and local activists have been fighting against the demolition of a site that would have severe environmental impacts in the diverse and already heavily polluted neighborhood. Speakers from Little Earth and the Climate Justice Committee spoke in solidarity with the indigenous and East Phillips people’s struggle to gain community control of this site.

Other speakers included UPS worker and Teamster Shane Clune, who talked about a possible nationwide UPS strike this summer, Sue Sami, a Cub Foods worker and member of UFCW Local 663, Toshira Garraway of Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, and spoken word artist Brandyn Tulloch.