A coalition of labor unions, political activists and residents demonstrated throughout San Diego County Friday in commemoration of International Workers Day, showing support for reforms to working-class rights and condemning the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on immigration.
During demonstrations at both Chicano Park in Barrio Logan and Waterfront Park downtown, hundreds of community members and leaders listened to speakers and marched in support of blue-collar workers and the shrinking middle class of America.
More than 500 people attended Friday’s march at Chicano Park, which shut down multiple nearby streets and wound its way through blocks of Barrio Logan and San Diego City College. The demonstrators held signs emblazoned with slogans such as “Every worker matters” or “People over billionaires.”
“It’s the workers, the people that are creating and moving things, that built the world,” said Miguel Del Campo, a member of Ironworkers Local 229. “And we’re out here to show our numbers, to show that we actually have strength.”
Erendria Ramirez, from Union del Barrio, an pro-migrant activist group, leads a gathering of people marching for a May Day rally in Chicano Park’s Barrio Logan neighborhood in San Diego on Friday. (Carlos Moreno / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
May 1, known as May Day and widely celebrated by labor unions across the United States, is, in part, tied to the May 4, 1886, Haymarket Affair in Chicago. A bomb and ensuing gunfire killed labor demonstrators and police officers while injuring dozens more.
The incident, along with many other events and movements over the last century, led to a number of improvements to working conditions for employees, such as the five-day work week, overtime pay, workplace safety standards and the end of child labor.
Officials said Friday’s events carry on much of the legacy of the early labor movement leaders, as well as those who lost their lives during the Chicago demonstration nearly 140 years ago.
During the Chicano Park event, political organizers said they were participating because they see an intersection between their causes — particularly when it comes to supporting immigrants — and those important to the working class.
People gathered with flags and signs for a May Day rally marking International Workers Day at Chicano Park in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego on Friday. (Carlos Moreno / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“All the unity is meant to challenge the oppressive policies and actions from the Trump administration and, in particular, how they’ve affected migrant workers,” said Pedro Ríos, director of American Friends Service Committee’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program.
Alexander Kraft, an El Cajon resident who is running for mayor this year and is a member of Service Employees International Union, Local 221, said there was a crossover between social and economic justice because the money allocated toward immigration enforcement could be used to benefit working people.
“If we had a society where the working class called the shots, the resources that are being allocated to things that harm our communities would instead be allocated to things that benefit people like you and me, such as universal health care, guaranteed housing and food; just the sort of normal, dignified life that every working person deserves,” Kraft said.
Daniela Muruato, a Barrio Logan high school student, said she and some of her classmates walked off campus Friday in order to show her community that a younger generation is taking an active role in politics.
“Only we know what we need and what we deserve,” Muruato said as she walked alongside a number of other teenagers near Chicano Park Friday. “We want (our local officials) to follow our demands; they’re our government, so we should be telling them what to do.”
People march during a May Day protest in downtown San Diego on Friday. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
During a later event at Waterfront Park, nearly 300 people congregated to hear from pro-labor and immigrant-rights leaders during the “Workers over Billionaires” rally.
“Billionaires aren’t paying us enough to live or get by,” said Ryan Woempner, a La Mesa resident. “A lot of people say they want a living wage, but I want a thriving wage. I want to see working folks have a little bit of the niceties of life.”
From the foot of the County Administration Center, speakers called on attendees to support workers’ rights, champion immigrant causes and support the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, a proposed California ballot initiative that would levy a one-time tax on state residents whose net worth exceeds $1 billion.
“Billionaires don’t harvest today’s crops, they don’t pack the meat, they don’t clean office buildings and streets … Workers do these jobs; we do these jobs,” said Evelyn DeJesus, executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers. “That’s why we have a labor movement. Without a labor movement, there is no democracy.”
Maureen Sweeney, a Kensington resident, wore a bright green “peacekeeper” vest to both demonstrations. She said after growing up in the 1960s and ’70s, and watching other political movements over the years, she felt inspired by the turnout she saw Friday.
“If you want to enact change, you have to do it together,” Sweeney said. “And I’m seeing that it’s getting very organized, it’s coalescing and it’s really good to see all of this community-driven action.”