Labor groups rally in Fort Worth to push back on attacks by Trump administration
Around 300 people gathered outside the old Fort Worth City Hall on Thursday to mark the international May Day holiday and voice opposition to the Trump administration.
The rally was one of 1,000 events across the United States organized by the group May Day Strong. The organizers said the events were meant to stand up to what they called the administration's attacks on unions, federal workers, immigrants and trans and genderqueer people, according to an online event page.
Organizers of the Fort Worth event said their rally was meant to highlight the importance of organized labor while creating solidarity among a number of groups that feel threatened by Trump administration policies.
This year's event needed to be about more than just a celebration, said Xavi Velasquez, an event organizer with the Dallas chapter of the National Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression.
'It had to do more about sticking up for ourselves,' Velasquez said.
Thursday's rally came four days after Tarrant County labor leaders Angi DeFelippo and Rick Majumdar were arrested in Dallas after allegedly blocking a highway.
Both have since been released and are fighting the charges in court.
Majumdar, a member of the Teamsters Union and a research assistant at the University of Texas at Arlington, told the crowd that his arrest won't stop his activism.
'They're not going to stop me. They're not going to stop this movement, because we will not be spat in our faces and take it any longer,' he said as the crowd cheered him on.
The rally also served as an educational opportunity as Tarrant County Labor Council vice president Tevita Uhatafe spoke to the crowd about the origins of the May Day holiday.
May 1, also known as International Workers Day, commemorates the 1886 Haymarket Riot in Chicago, when police attacked striking workers fighting for an 8-hour work day.
The day is celebrated on May 1 in 160 countries, but not the United States, Uhatafe said.
'It's a holiday that was invented here, and they don't teach that in school,' he said.
Uhatafe praised the crowd for gathering, saying it takes guts to stand up and speak out in Tarrant County.
He referenced fears of surveillance from law enforcement, and deaths in the Tarrant County Jail having a chilling effect on people's willingness to protest.
'What's amazing about all the people coming here this afternoon is amidst all that, they're still saying they want to be part of the solution,' he said.
Several speakers talked about moves by the Trump administration to fire federal workers, including unionized members of the Transportation Safety Administration.
Julie Hedrick, national president at the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, expressed fears the administration would go after other groups of organized labor.
'Today, we are here to remember our power, and to remind Fort Worth, Dallas and this country that when we fight, we win,' she said.
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