{"id":181771,"date":"2026-05-02T00:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T00:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/181771\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T00:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T00:50:08","slug":"philadelphia-unions-rally-on-may-day-outline-labor-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/181771\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia unions rally on May Day, outline labor vision"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Hundreds of union members, activists and area residents assembled at Philadelphia City Hall shortly before marching west down John F. Kennedy Boulevard to mark May Day, an annual international commemoration of labor and the struggles and gains of the working class.\n<\/p>\n

The rally adopted the theme \u201cWorkers Over Billionaires,\u201d a reflection of concerns about recent policies participants say are hurting average Americans.\u00a0 While unions gather for May Day every year, this year drew a broader protest against the Trump administration.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very distraught about what\u2019s happening in our country and that people with a lot of money are making decisions that impact greatly the rest of our lives,\u201d said Denise Dowell, a retired health care organizer. \u201cI\u2019m distraught that we no longer have a democracy, in my opinion. And I\u2019m a longtime community and union organizer, so I\u2019m motivated to step up and show up.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

A series of speakers from different industries and areas of labor took the stage at City Hall and rallied the crowd, leading chants and a series of votes on a \u201cworking people\u2019s vision\u201d of labor goals.
\n\"UnionsUnions and labor activists rally at City Hall to commemorate May Day, an annual international commemoration of labor struggles, and achievements. (Carmen Russell-Sluchansky\/WHYY)\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTo truly win the world that we deserve, we need to have a shared vision of what that world looks like,\u201d Susie Person of Glaziers Local 252 told the group. \u201cAnd now we want all of you to be part of this process by voting to ratify that vision.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

By the end, the platform included 10 planks including demands for a tax on billionaires, a statement that \u201chealthcare is a human right\u201d and a call to preserve public education.\n<\/p>\n

\u2018Fascismo\u2019 deja vu<\/p>\n

The first May Day, also known as International Workers\u2019 Day, was established in the late 19th Century. In 1886, labor activists in the U.S. organized a nationwide push for an eight-hour workday, culminating in protests during which an explosion killed a police officer and wounded others. Eight protestors were charged with inciting violence, seven of whom were executed.\n<\/p>\n

The event, known as the Haymarket Affair, became a powerful symbol of the labor movement and, by 1889, international socialist groups designated May 1 as a day to honor workers and continue the fight for fair conditions. In an effort to subdue the impact of May Day while still honoring workers, the U.S. government established Labor Day in 1894. Unlike May Day, which often carries a more political or protest-oriented tone in many countries, Labor Day in the U.S. has evolved into a more moderate celebration, marked by parades and community events.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cMay Day is a historically very important day,\u201d said Julia Orthy, a graphic designer and member of the Democratic Socialists Association, who joined the march. \u201cCurrently workers all around the world internationally celebrate May Day. It has its history in the United States [but] it\u2019s not as much celebrated in the United States, and we\u2019re trying to bring it back.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Participants carried signs showing a range of messages. Some included the hammer and sickle, a communist symbol representing the unity of workers and common citizens, and declaring, \u201cWorkers of the world unite.\u201d Others railed against \u201cfascism\u201d as an obstruction to fair elections and called for a resistance to \u201cAmerican dictators.\u201d Others called for another impeachment of President Donald Trump, and one referenced \u201c86 47,\u201d a social media meme that former FBI Director James Comey once posted, which led to his recent indictment by the Justice Department.\n<\/p>\n

Miriam Avila, who moved to Philadelphia 30 years ago, joined the rally carrying the flag of her homeland, Peru, to criticize the treatment of immigrants.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to protest against the misery immigrants live in right now. It\u2019s a lot of unjust sins. It\u2019s like to fascismo and abuse of power,\u201d she said, using the Spanish word for fascism. \u201cHow many people are dying? Even our Americans in this country. We cannot live like this.\u201d
\n\"MiriamMiriam Avila, an immigrant from Peru, joins the May Day festivities at City Hall on Friday. (Carmen Russell-Sluchansky\/WHYY)\n<\/p>\n

Avila, a retired psychotherapist, said she fears for the U.S. because it is becoming reminiscent of the challenges she faced in Peru.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here because the people don\u2019t respect the life in my country with the terrorism and money,\u201d she said. \u201cBut here it\u2019s almost the same right now. I can\u2019t believe it \u2026 It\u2019s very sad.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[59,2561,79578,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-181771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-labor","tag-labor-unions","tag-may-day","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}