‘It's our time to stand up': May Day rallies draw thousands to Oakland, S.F.

San Francisco Chronicle​

02-05-2025

Thousands of demonstrators rallied in San Francisco and Oakland on Thursday in defense of worker and immigrant rights and opposition to the Trump administration.
In San Francisco, thousands of demonstrators gathered at Civic Center Plaza to celebrate unions and worker activism. Kim Evon, executive vice president of Service Employees International Union Local 2015, said that the labor-supported rally offered an opportunity for people frustrated with the current state of politics to join in productive action.
'You don't have to stand for what is happening,' Evon said. 'This has always been the secret recipe. When we're united — across our differences and our journeys — with a vision of what this country should look like and how it should treat its people, we can fend off any attack.'
The demonstration was part of countless nationwide May Day labor rallies, which drew large crowds in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. The rallies focused on immigrant and workers' rights and condemned actions of the Trump administration, including large-scale cuts to the federal workforce and mass deportations.
Theresa Rutherford, a nurse at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco and president of SEIU Local 1021, said that cuts to Medicaid and Medicare could hit home for healthcare workers represented by the union. Rutherford said Laguna Honda and San Francisco General both serve populations that rely on government programs for their healthcare.
Rutherford said that unions, which have long had actions and celebrations for May Day, are once again the 'bastions' of protection for people's rights.
'We have no choice,' Rutherford said. 'It's our time to stand up.'
A representative from Mujeres Unidas y Activas, a Mission-based immigrant organization, linked the fight for immigrant rights with that of worker rights. The woman, identified as Veronica, said that immigrants are working across every sector in San Francisco and contributing taxes, but lack the social protections that citizens have, including unemployment benefits.
'We're workers. We're neighbors. We're community,' Veronica said in Spanish. 'We're human beings.'
The State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder both attended the rally and spoke about fighting back against attacks on workers rights by the Trump administration.
Around 5 p.m., demonstrators marched down Market Street toward Embarcadero, chanting support for unions and workers as they walked by cross streets of stopped traffic.
'What's disgusting?' one speaker asked the crowd. 'Union busting!'
Many demonstrators came with other messages pushing back against Trump, calling for action against climate change and supporting Palestine.
Ramsey Robinson, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and a mental health worker in the Bayview neighborhood, said billionaires are to blame for people working 40 hours per week still not being able to afford daily expenses. Robinson also emphasized that many Black workers face additional hurdles, including job instability and discrimination in the hiring process.
'All that we see is built and run by workers,' Robinson said.
Cassondra Curiel, a teacher and the president of the United Educators of San Francisco, said that from the start of his presidency, Trump has attacked labor by firing federal workers and trying to revoke their rights to unionize.
'We're all suffering from the chaos,' Curiel said. 'Our schools are sanctuaries for learning, sanctuaries for growing, sanctuaries for food, for resources.'
Curiel said California's public education system is underfunded largely because of the billionaires surrounding Trump, including Elon Musk, who she said are not paying their fair share in taxes.
In Oakland, a group of about 1,000 demonstrators marched along International Boulevard, from the Fruitvale Village to San Antonio Park. 'Defend workers rights, defend the working class,' the group chanted during the 1.5-mile trek. In Spanish, they added: 'El pueblo unido, jamas sera vencido.'
The rally in Oakland kicked off with an Aztec dance and featured a slate of speakers who called attention to various causes, including the war in Gaza anda police brutality.
'We are here to be recognized as the workers we are — who support the U.S. economy with our labor,' said Silvia, a migrant who declined to share her last name to protect her identity.
Dressed as Lady Liberty, Morgan Lynn, of Richmond, held a sign that read, 'Give me your tired, your poor… Yearning to breathe.'
'It's really a call to remind all of us to unite in defense of the best values of this country,' she said of her costume. 'The Statue of Liberty to me stands for these principles of welcoming people and giving all people the opportunity to achieve their dreams.'
Among the crowd was Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunado Bas, who described the Trump administration as authoritarian. 'This administration is trying to strip away… our constitutional rights and our rights to due process, especially for migrants,' Fortunado Bas said.
Holding a large Mexican flag at the intersection of International Boulevard and 22nd Avenue, Juan Alberto Silva, 46, a member of Oakland Workers' Collective, said most migrants want a better life. 'We didn't come to this country to steal or commit crimes. We came to work and get ahead,' he said.