Activists Fill Streets for May Day
On Sunday, May 1, thousands from Los Angeles joined activists, union stewards, and street vendors for the May Day march, commemorating the global celebration also referred to as International Workers’ Day.
On Sunday, May 1, thousands from Los Angeles joined activists, union stewards, and street vendors for the May Day march, commemorating the global celebration also referred to as International Workers Day. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) organized the march and invited the community to join. “We fight for and honor immigrants, workers, and all who fight to create a just society, fully inclusive of immigrants,” CHIRLA wrote on digital flyers for the event.
The march began at Broadway and Olympic Blvd with speeches by union leaders and activists before leading the crowd to Los Angeles City Hall. In addition to CHIRLA, many other organizations and unions gathered for the march, such as the LA Street Vendors Campaign, Socialist Workers Party, Utility Workers Union of America, Farabundo Martí National Liberation, Workers United, and the Democratic Socialists of America of Los Angeles (DSA-LA).
Bernie Senter, a production worker at a bakery in Montebello, set up a booth of literature, propped on stands, about revolutionary left-wing ideology. Senter is a member of the Socialist Workers Party which he describes as a revolutionary working-class party. “May Day is an important historic occasion for workers to stand up and speak out,” he said. “The hope springs from what I see around me today, not utopian dreams about the future.”
Originating from demands for worker’s rights at the beginnings of labor unions, present-day activists continue to celebrate what the day means to them. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, an international federation of socialist first designed May 1 as a day in support of workers in 1889 to commemorate the Haymarket Riot in Chicago, where over 200,000 workers went on strike to demand an eight-hour workday.
While walking down Broadway, organizers from DSA-LA held a sign that said ‘Solidarity is Essential.’ Although International Workers Day is not a national holiday in the United States, activists in the country still annually celebrate the unofficial holiday nationwide by attending marches that promote worker and class solidarity.
Alex Santana (right) pours juice on shaved ice, as his wife Elena Santana (left) prepares to put a spoon into it. Broadway street in Los Angeles, on Sunday, May 1. (Anna Sophia Moltke | The Corsair)
Some attendees of the May Day march took a break from walking to support local street vendors. Street vendor Alex Santana set up a shaved ice stand on the corner of Broadway and 7th Street. He moved a steel shaver back and forth across a large block of ice to prepare treats for customers. “It’s a hot day. Shaved ice is perfect on a day like this,” he said.
Advocates at the march, shouting on megaphones and holding homemade signs, argued that street vendors are essential to the Los Angeles community. They provide access to fresh, minimally processed foods and Aguas Frescas (a drink made from fruit, water, and sugar) at low prices in areas that may lack grocery markets.
Despite the decriminalization of street vendors, the L.A. County Department of Public Health, along with the police, still conducts sweeps which can result in fines of up to $1,000 for the vendors. Members of the crowd at the May Day march carried signs promoting the passing of SB 972, a bill introduced by state senator Lena Gonzalez. The bill aims to create a category for more compact mobile food facilities and update retail food codes, which activists hope will leave street vendors less worried about potential fines or repercussions.
