Los Angeles Laborers Unite in Hollywood
With the start of May comes International Workers Day, in which many laborers celebrate through rallying for a cause. This Wednesday, the Los Angeles May Day Coalition hosted an annual march with the theme “Solidarity is Power: The People United."
The coalition is made up of more than 30 organizations, including Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Party for Socialism and Liberation, and United Teachers Los Angeles, who were all present at the march.
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez said in a statement, “May Day in Los Angeles is about building a better community for workers, immigrants, and all Angelenos.”
The rally began on Sunset Blvd. and Gower St., where many labor organizations and supporters gathered as speakers addressed the crowd. Yvonne Wheeler, president of the LA County Federation of Labor, was among the speakers.
Leading the front of the march were Los Angeles janitorial workers with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Service Workers West (USWW), whose contracts had expired and were under negotiation. Julio Ramirez, Industry Vice President for the janitorial division at USWW, said janitorial staff were marching for better wages, better health benefits, and a better life. If their union contract agreement was not reached by Monday, they would go on strike.
After the march, they did, in fact, reach a tentative agreement, and on Monday, members across California voted to approve the new deal. According to Sebastian Silva, communications coordinator at SEIU USWW, the contract includes “historic wage increases and new protections to fight against sexual assault on the job and dangerous workloads.”
Maria Vasquez, with janitorial at LAX in terminal 7, attended the rally with her fellow coworkers and union members, marching for wage increases. While their contract has not expired, they marched in solidarity for Ramirez’s cause.
“It’s affecting all of us in all departments,” Vasquez said. She explained that the current minimum wage does not effectively compensate for employees' travel, rent, and other expenses they face day to day. Many workers live far from their jobs due to rent being cheaper in certain areas, but then they have to choose between paying high gas prices or traveling with public transportation, where they face “so many dangers.”
“There’s a lot of things that people don’t see. Us, LAX workers, we push our lives and, you know, we do what we have to do to get to work, and it’s a hassle,” said Vasquez.
Eduardo Martinez, who represents the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in the housing division, attended the march and addressed high rent in California. He shared that AHF is proposing a bill in November regarding rent control in the city of Los Angeles. “We have found that it is very difficult to live in California,” Martinez said. “There’s 60,000 people homeless in the county of LA, so we need to do something more.”
The march not only consisted of laborers and their families but also groups of students preparing to enter the labor force.
Javier Carbajal, counselor at Los Angeles Valley College’s (LAVC) Dream Resource Center, said they prepare students to enter the workforce at (LAVC), but want to ensure students can enter into fair working conditions. Carabjal described the turnout of this year’s May Day March, saying, “A lot of family, a lot of community, a lot of individuals that support the same causes. The idea that individuals should have the right to be free and individuals should have the right to have just labor.”
Among those fighting for fair wages and working conditions for laborers was an overwhelming amount of support for a ceasefire in Gaza. Organizations, such as The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, marched with signs in support of Palestine that read “Stop the war on workers” and “Workers demand ceasefire now.”
Groups of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California (USC) students marched in support of Palestine. Maile McCann, a USC student, said, “We’re here bringing international solidarity into our labor organizing and, you know, celebrating the success of the labor movement right now and bringing worker power to leverage political power.”
After the initial gathering, the crowd marched to Hollywood and Highland, where a closing rally was held in front of the TCL Chinese Theater. Soto-Martinez kicked off the program, and Jornaleros del Norte Cumbia Group closed with a musical performance.
