A group of high school students, many of them carrying picket signs, march through an intersection in front of Berkeley High SchoolBerkeley High School students begin a march from Civic Center Park to the UC Berkeley campus during a walkout protest for May Day. Credit: Nancy Rubin/ProBonoPhoto

Students, labor leaders, politicians and residents rallied to denounce the Trump administration, cheer on local unions and advocate for an array of progressive causes at May Day demonstrations in Berkeley on Friday.

Local officials including state Sen. Jesse Arreguín, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas and Berkeley City Councilmembers Ben Bartlett and Igor Tregub joined several local unions and their supporters for a rally at Civic Center Park late Friday morning. 

A large group of people sit on a law listening to a speaker in front of an academic buildingUnions representing campus workers held a May Day rally on the UC Berkeley campus Friday. Credit: Nico Savidge/Berkeleyside

A couple hundred students, who had walked out of class to protest at the park, marched at midday up to UC Berkeley to join a demonstration by unions representing campus workers outside California Hall, which holds Chancellor Rich Lyons’ office.

Demonstrators chanted pro-union slogans and listened to speakers who called for better contracts for Cal workers and the end of U.S. military aid to Israel, and demanded the UC system end its investments in the firm Blackstone.

A group of people listen to a speaker during a demonstration in a parkUnion leaders and local elected officials took part in a May Day rally at Berkeley’s Civic Center Park. Credit: Nico Savidge/Berkeleyside

A young person speaks into a microphone, while people behind them hold protest signsA Berkeley High School student speaks during a May Day rally on the UC Berkeley campus. Credit: Nancy Rubin/ProBonoPhoto

A group of young people stand on a lawn, many of them holding protest signsBerkeley High School students marched from Civic Center Park to UC Berkeley so they could join a rally with campus worker unions. Credit: Nancy Rubin/ProBonoPhoto

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Nico Savidge is Berkeleyside’s news editor, and has covered city hall since 2021. He has reported on transportation, law enforcement, politics, education and college sports for the San Jose Mercury News,…
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