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On May Day, Protesters Take to the Streets Nationwide On May Day, Protesters Take to the Streets Nationwide
(about 4 hours later)
President Trump has proclaimed Monday to be “Loyalty Day,” a time for Americans to reaffirm their commitment to “individual liberties, to limited government and to the inherent dignity of every human being” with Pledge of Allegiance ceremonies and a display of American flags. At the White House, President Trump had proclaimed May 1 to be “Loyalty Day,” a time for Americans to reaffirm their commitment to “individual liberties, to limited government and to the inherent dignity of every human being” with Pledge of Allegiance ceremonies and a display of American flags.
Monday, however, is also a major day of protest for those who oppose the administration, expanding the annual May Day events — which traditionally highlight labor issues — into a one-day-fits-all schedule of demonstrations for the rights of immigrants, women, workers, and gay men and lesbians. Some Americans had other plans.
By morning in Los Angeles, thousands of people had gathered in MacArthur Park in the heavily Latino neighborhood of Westlake. Protesters planned to march about two miles to City Hall, where several elected officials, including Mayor Eric Garcetti, were scheduled to speak. In New York City, a day of demonstrations was set to culminate in an evening rally at Foley Square. In major cities and dozens of smaller communities nationwide, protesters marched for immigrants, for workers, for women and for others, grafting their myriad pleas onto a day traditionally reserved for the cause of laborers around the world.
Protests were underway in smaller cities, as well, including Homestead, Fla., where immigrant farmworkers were striking for the day; Lawrence, Mass., where some restaurants and other businesses dependent on immigrants were closed; and Grand Rapids, Mich. Many surrendered a shift’s pay to participate. Labor and immigrants’ rights activists, criticizing Mr. Trump’s detention and deportation agenda, had called for a general strike on May 1, also known as May Day, to emphasize the overlap between the concerns of unauthorized immigrants — on whom farms, restaurants, construction projects and other industries depend — and those of workers.
About 300 people had gathered outside a Home Depot north of Minneapolis to protest what they said were the anti-labor practices of some local janitorial companies that clean stores for Home Depot, Sears and other retailers. “Trump has pitted the U.S. working class against migrant workers and refugees, and so we must strive to create bridges, not bans or walls, to connect our struggles together,” representatives of the International Migrants Alliance wrote in its call to assemble, describing Mr. Trump as “a brazenly fascist, racist and anti-immigrant president.”
In Grand Rapids, Mich., more than 4,000 people — twice the number of people who sat out jobs and school days in Grand Rapids on February’s nationwide “Day Without Immigrants” — had turned out in the rain by midafternoon, closing large sections of the city’s Latino community. Bakeries, markets, restaurants and clothing stores had shuttered for the day out of solidarity or for lack of workers.
About a quarter of the local school district’s students were absent, according to a schools spokesman.
In Homestead, Fla., where immigrant farmworkers keep fields of zucchini, beans, cherry tomatoes and okra growing, more than 1,000 people marched from a local park to City Hall. Many were not sure how employers would react when they returned to work on Tuesday, and local activists had planned to accompany farmworkers back to their jobs to offer support in front of their bosses.
About 300 people gathered outside a Home Depot north of Minneapolis to protest what they said were the anti-labor practices of some janitorial companies that clean stores for Home Depot, Sears and other retailers.
“We have no benefits. No vacation. We don’t have anything,” said Antonia Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant in Minneapolis who has worked for one such contractor for nine years, cleaning a Sears store. “It doesn’t matter if we are black, white or brown. What matters is that we stay united and fight for what we deserve.”“We have no benefits. No vacation. We don’t have anything,” said Antonia Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant in Minneapolis who has worked for one such contractor for nine years, cleaning a Sears store. “It doesn’t matter if we are black, white or brown. What matters is that we stay united and fight for what we deserve.”
In Austin, Tex., some immigrants’ rights advocates staged a sit-in at the office of Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, over the Texas House of Representatives’ passage of legislation that would punish local officials and cities for refusing to help the federal government with deportations. Outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco, protesters blocked an intersection and a driveway. In Austin, Tex., some immigrants’ rights advocates staged a sit-in at the office of Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, over legislation that would punish local officials and cities for refusing to help the federal government with deportations. Outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco, protesters blocked an intersection and a driveway.
In New York, while protesters in Union Square and Washington Square Park waved signs with slogans in Spanish, like “Workers united will never be defeated,” immigrant enclaves were quieter than usual on Monday. In New York, while protesters in Union Square and Washington Square Park waved signs with slogans in Spanish, like “Workers united will never be defeated,” immigrant enclaves were quieter than usual on Monday, though the city’s Department of Education said attendance at schools was normal.
Damian Rodriguez, the owner of First Class Car and Limo Service in Inwood, said his company had given its 400 drivers the option of staying home, and about 20 percent of them accepted on Monday morning, when local elected officials had encouraged drivers to go on strike. He said he had also tracked the number of calls received during the morning rush hour, and it had fallen by about 20 percent compared with a usual weekday morning. Damian Rodriguez, the owner of First Class Car and Limo Service in Inwood, said his company had given its 400 drivers the option of staying home on Monday morning, and about 20 percent of them accepted.
“We all have family members and acquaintances who are affected, who don’t have their papers and are afraid,” he said. “We do not agree with what’s happening.” “We all have family members and acquaintances who are affected, who don’t have their papers and are afraid,” he said.
Still, for at least one limousine driver, taking the day off was simply unaffordable. As he bought coffee and a pastry at a Dominican bakery in Washington Heights, Fernando Garcia, 49, explained that because he was a partner in his company, they all had to contribute equally or the business would suffer.Still, for at least one limousine driver, taking the day off was simply unaffordable. As he bought coffee and a pastry at a Dominican bakery in Washington Heights, Fernando Garcia, 49, explained that because he was a partner in his company, they all had to contribute equally or the business would suffer.
Rent was due on May 1, he added, and peoples’ bank balances dipped. Rent was due on May 1, he added.
“I’m going to work today because without work, who’s going to pay the bills?” he said in Spanish, to a murmur of approval from a bakery worker behind the counter.“I’m going to work today because without work, who’s going to pay the bills?” he said in Spanish, to a murmur of approval from a bakery worker behind the counter.
This year’s May Day protest was also expected to draw thousands of people to the streets of cities including Miami, Milwaukee, Raleigh, N.C., and Scranton, Pa. Corporations including Google and Facebook are giving workers the opportunity to march without fear of retribution. Labor and immigrants’ rights activists have called for a general strike to boycott Mr. Trump’s policies, though by midafternoon on Monday, the number of immigrants sitting out work did not appear to match the levels seen during February’s “Day Without Immigrants.” As May Day commemorations go, Monday’s turnout was extraordinary in the United States. But in a crowded calendar of anti-Trump dissent — following January’s Women’s March, late April’s March for Science and Saturday’s People’s Climate March — the scenes and chants took on the quality of a refrain.
There is a long tradition of protest around the world on May Day, known in most other countries as International Workers’ Day. But the last time any May Day swelled streets across the country with large numbers of demonstrators was in 2006, when more than a million people in hundreds of cities took part in a Day Without Immigrants to protest federal legislation that would have made it a felony to live in the country without legal status. In Los Angeles, tens of thousands of people holding signs declaring “No human is illegal” and “Sanctuary now!” marched about two miles from MacArthur Park to City Hall downtown.
Then, the marchers sought immigration overhaul. The demands this time around are more basic: To many would-be protesters, even a return to the status quo before Mr. Trump was elected would feel something like a win. The crowd swelled with members of unions representing janitors, health care workers and hotel employees, as well as members of the Writers Guild of America and other Hollywood unions.
“Trump has pitted the U.S. working class against migrant workers and refugees, and so we must strive to create bridges, not bans or walls, to connect our struggles together,” representatives of the International Migrants Alliance wrote in its call to assemble on May 1, describing Mr. Trump as “a brazenly fascist, racist and anti-immigrant president.” Across the street from City Hall, dozens of police officers separated a few dozen Trump supporters from the protesters as they shouted bitterly at one another. One of the president’s supporters said in Spanish that Mexico is “a racist country” before being drowned out by protesters.
The administration has called for government buildings to display American flags and for schools to honor the occasion with recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance. “I’m here for the Constitution and for America, for following the law,” said Dura Young, 60, a currency trader from Torrance, Calif. “It’s not immigrants, it’s the illegals — they’ve committed a crime by coming here. Of course they’re going to get deported — we have to have laws.”
President Barack Obama also proclaimed May 1 as Loyalty Day, and previous presidents have chosen days other than May 1. At least one person was arrested, on an arson charge for burning a flag.
It was still Loyalty Day, and the members of the pro-Trump counterprotest began reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The protesters joined in. When it had ended, they were still shouting the last words: “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. For all. For all.”