{"id":258028,"date":"2026-05-04T18:17:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T18:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/258028\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T18:17:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T18:17:37","slug":"demonstrators-in-st-pete-highlight-labor-movement-during-may-day-rally-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/258028\/","title":{"rendered":"Demonstrators in St. Pete Highlight labor movement during May Day rally [PHOTOS]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AWill Kilgore outside St. Petersburg City Hall on May 2, 2026. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

It was hot and sunny last Saturday, for International Workers\u2019 Day at a May Day rally with about 200 people gathered outside St. Petersburg City Hall. Some delivered speeches before a march to Williams Park along Central Avenue in downtown, and then back.<\/p>\n

It began with speeches from local organizers and St. Pete Council Member Richie Floyd (District 8).<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is May Day, a historic celebration of Labor Rights and working people in this country, so I always like to attend,\u201d Floyd told San Pedro Gazette and Creative Loafing Tampa Bay after his speech. \u201cI\u2019m glad to see so many people out here willing to support labor and working people, and push back against the nonsense that\u2019s going on in Washington D.C. and Tallahassee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others spoke about rising living costs, gas prices, war in Iran, and immigration enforcement, among other topics.<\/p>\n

Will Kilgore, with the St. Pete Tenants Union, asked, \u201cWhy are we seeing gas prices go through the roof, while our government is using billions of our tax dollars to sustain an unprovoked war on the nation of Iran?\u201d<\/p>\n

This story appears courtesy of San Pedro Gazette<\/a>, which is part of the Tampa Bay Journalism Project <\/a>\u00a0(TBJP), a nascent Creative Loafing Tampa Bay effort supported by grants and a coalition of donors who make specific contributions via the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation<\/a>. If you are a non-paywalled Bay area publication interested in TBJP, please email rroa@ctampa.com<\/a>. Support San Pedro Gazette by commenting, sharing this on social media, or donating<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ali Abdel-Qader, an organizer with the Tampa Bay branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, emphasized hard-won labor rights<\/a> in the United States<\/a>, including minimum wage, overtime and the weekend.<\/p>\n

Once the speeches concluded, the march to Williams Park began. Starting on the road, police soon directed them to the sidewalks. Throughout, they chanted while drivers honked or shouted as they passed.<\/p>\n

Juan Jos\u00e9 Jaramillo, a demonstrator, spoke with the San Pedro Gazette in Williams Park, saying he attended because he believes there are many in the country \u201cthat work multiple jobs<\/a> just to be able to subsist, and that\u2019s incredibly impractical and unjust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ash, another attendee, expressed that she wants billionaires<\/a> to be taxed<\/a> \u201call the moneys,\u201d and explained, \u201cI just want everyday Americans to have access to healthcare, and working families to have access to childcare, and them not having to work 60-80 hours a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"St. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"St. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"St. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"St. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"St. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"St. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"St. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n

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This article appears in Apr. 30 \u2013 May 06, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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