Chicago – From manifestations of workers’ rights to marches for social justice, activists around the world will begin May Day demonstrations on Thursday.
In some countries, it is a holiday in honor of the Labor, but the activists who plan marches in the United States say that much of their message is about fighting against against President Donald Trump policies aimed at immigrants, federal workers and diversity programs.
Miles are expected in Tokyo manifestations to Chicago. However, in some parts of the United States, the fear planted by the Trump administration is expected to keep some immigrants at home.
“Everyone is under attack at this time,” said Jorge Mujica, a Chicago Labor leader for a long time, where May manifestations have historically had a great participation.
The roots of May, or international workers’ day, more than a century to a turbulent and crucial time in the labor history of the United States.
In the 1880s, the unions that pushed for better conditions of the workplace began to advocate for an eight -hour work day with generalized manifestations and attacks. In May 1886, a labor demonstration of Chicago became deadly when a bomb was thrown and the police represents shots. Several labor activists, most of them immigrants, were convicted of conspiracy to incite violence among other positions. Four were hung.
Later, unions recommended that workers be honored every May 1. A sculpture at Haymarket Plaza in Chicago commemorates them with an inscription that says: “Dedicated to all workers in the world.”
May Day Marches, Rallies and Dets They have taken place throughout the world in recent years as unions promote the best rights for workers, groups that air complaints or activists require an end to The war in Gaza.
While most demonstrations have been peaceful, there have been clashes with the police.
Last year, the police in Paris fired tear gas when thousands of protesters marched through the French capital, looking for better salaries and working conditions. In New York City, May demonstrations coincided with the increase Tensions on university campuses About pro-palestinian students, resulting in numerous arrests.
This year, the organizers of numerous cities, including New York, are asking for unity in many causes and groups.
“We are organizing a world where each family has housing, medical care, fair wages, union protection and security, regardless of race, immigration status or postal code,” said the American Civil Liberty Union of New York in a statement.
Other manifestations of US Senator Bernie Sanders and demonstrations in the Capitol of the State of Colorado and in Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, DC
Although labor and immigrants are historically intertwined, the focus of May manifested itself in the United States changed to immigration in 2006. It was then when approximately 1 million people, including almost half a million in Chicago alone, took to the streets to protest the federal legislation that would have lived in the United States without a legal crime.
Since then, the crowds for the manifestations of May 1 have decreased with defense groups that are divided and changed in fields of activism, such as the rights of voters.
This year in Chicago, the organizers say that activism from Thursday will last until May 5 With boycott and strikes. Its approach is the rights of workers but also the increase Anti -immigrant rhetoric of the Trump administration.
The organizers recognize a Relaxing effect in Immigrant communities Since Trump has taken energetic measures against application, especially in the call Sanctuary cities including Chicago. They expect a lower number of immigrants, but they are expanding their reach to more unions, even for teachers and nurses.
“There is a lot of fear out there,” said Omar López, a Chicago organizer for a long time.
In some countries, May is a holiday for workers, including France, Kenya, Russia and China, where it lasts five days.
It is also a traditional spring celebration that is observed so that they do not imply marching in the streets or civil disobedience.
In Hawaii, on May 1 it is called Lei’s Day, which is not an official vacation, but a state celebration of the Hawaiian culture and the spirit of Aloha through the creation and generation of Lei, usually a flower collar.
In other places, people mark vacations leaving May baskets full of gifts and flowers at the doors of friends. The city of Annapolis, Maryland, celebrates its competition in basket of May 70, where residents and companies exceed each other to obtain the best floral arrangements.
“It is the way our community emerges from winter and welcomes the beauty and energy of spring,” said Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley.
