Latest news with #50501Michigan
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
May Day Detroit: Hundreds march calling for workers to unite against Trump administration
Demonstrators line Michigan Avenue during the Detroit May Day protest. May 1, 2025 | Photo by Erick Diaz Veliz After a rainy Thursday afternoon, hundreds of people, including workers, students, and retired community members, marched through the streets of downtown Detroit, rejecting and criticizing the Trump administration's actions during its first 100 days in office, which has featured an assault on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and a rollback of federal agencies and departments. The march took place as part of a demonstration organized by May Day Detroit, 50501 Michigan, and other local social movements. It began with a rally that brought together hundreds of people outside Michigan Central Station at Roosevelt Park in the Corktown neighborhood, commemorating International Workers' Day. This demonstration took place alongside others organized simultaneously in various cities across the country and throughout the state of Michigan. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, commemorates the historic fight for an eight-hour workday and the broader pursuit of fair labor conditions, stemming from events like the Haymarket affair in Chicago in 1886. As the sky began to clear and the rain subsided, dozens of people approached Roosevelt Park carrying signs and banners criticizing Elon Musk, Trump, and the current administration. Various groups gathered on the sidewalk along Michigan Avenue holding their signs to begin their demonstration, receiving both support and, in some cases, rejection from passing drivers. At the same time, other groups were gathering in the park as the speakers were about to begin 'Long live international workers' solidarity,' said Frank Hammer, 82, labor activist and former president of the United Auto Workers Local 909. 'We are embracing May Day and putting the ruling class on notice that we are here to fight as one united working class,' Hammer added. Several speakers addressed the crowd during the rally, touching on topics such as the deportation of immigrant workers, police violence, worker layoffs, funding cuts, and the rising death toll of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. 'While our essential services are being cut, law enforcement remains well-funded and well-protected.' said Victoria Camille, a member of the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability. 'Instead, our basic needs are being stripped, while law enforcement stands by to uphold so-called 'law and order.' What's happening in our country is neither lawful nor orderly in any way.' Amid federal funding cuts that have affected Michigan communities in food, education, health, and research, a bipartisan plan supported by Michigan House Republicans proposes creating a $115 million annual Public Safety and Violence Prevention Trust Fund to support local law enforcement. Although there was a great sense of optimism regarding the social actions against the Trump administration during the demonstration, some community members expressed concern about the effectiveness of these actions since the beginning of the current government. 'We (workers) are gonna get hit hard, we're gonna have tariffs by the middle of the summer, and when that happens, there will be a lot of layoffs. We're gonna have people very desperate,' said George Lutz, 29, a Detroit resident. 'People are happy to go and make funny signs about Elon Musk and Trump, but when the police start shutting down factories, or when people really have to face the authorities of this country, when they are desperate, they will be forced to take it more seriously than now,' Lutz highlighted. A few minutes past 5 p.m., the protesters began to march along Michigan Avenue toward downtown Detroit, carrying their signs and chanting slogans in support of workers, such as 'May Day every day across the USA' and 'Sí se puede,' which means 'Yes, we can' in Spanish. The protesters made a stop at the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building, where more speakers took the microphone to express their concerns to the audience. 'Our postal office is under attack; they (the government) want to privatize it, just turn it into a profit-making corporation, and we don't work for profit. Sending letters will become more expensive,' said Gina Favors, 75, a retired member of the postal workers' union. 'Help us keep the postal office public; it was made for the people, let's keep it that way.' Trump, who referred to the constitutionally-mandated institution as a money-losing entity, has floated the idea of transferring the postal service to the Department of Commerce. The protesters marched through some streets in downtown Detroit, escorted by police cars at the front and rear of the march, until they returned to Michigan Avenue, where more protesters joined them while others observed from their windows. They arrived back at Roosevelt Park, where the protest ended around 7:30 p.m. without any incidents.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds protest Trump's policies at May Day rally in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood
More than 500 protesters gathered in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood to mark May Day by criticizing President Donald Trump's policies on labor, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights and more. The demonstration held during a rainy afternoon May 1 at Roosevelt Park was one of more than 1,000 that took place in every state and abroad as part of International Workers' Day, a global labor rights observance held annually on May 1. Organizers said the Detroit protest was aimed at highlighting how protesters believe the Trump administration has harmed workers, immigrants and organized labor. "The people united will never be defeated," the crowd chanted, with Michigan Central Station as the backdrop. Protesters lined up on sidewalks held up a plethora of signs, including some that read "When due process dies, dictators arise," and "Stop U.S. Wars. Fund Human Needs." Thursday's events are the latest in a wave of protests against Trump since he took office. In Michigan, similar rallies were held in cities all over the state, including Ann Arbor, Novi, Lansing and Howell, with some additional events scheduled through May 3. May Day traces back to the 1886 Haymarket Affair in Chicago, where a labor protest for an 8-hour workday turned violent after a bomb was thrown and gunfire was exchanged, resulting in police and civilian deaths. More: What to know about May Day protests in Michigan The Roosevelt Park rally was organized by May Day Detroit, 50501 Michigan and Moratorium NOW! Coalition. Abayomi Azikiwe with the Moratorium NOW! Coalition said his coalition opposes tariffs, the administration's anti-immigrant bias and wants to see the wars that are taking place ended, among other demands. Brynne Curtis, who sat on a bench holding a sign that said "Nothing to lose but our chains" before the protest officially started, said it's her job to fight for people who can't and to use her privilege to stand up for a better world. "Doesn't matter what you believe in, what God you follow, what race, creed or color you are," the 35-year-old Detroit resident said. "We as people of the world, deserve to live in a good society that cares about us." U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said she came to the demonstration to support working men and women on May Day. "Today is the day that we celebrate the rights of workers," Dingell said. "People are really worried about when the federal government takes away the rights of federal government workers to organize, that people are being fired. Today is about a day to fight for worker rights. Sometimes, we take things for granted, but suddenly you can't take anything for granted anymore." As demonstrators criticized the Trump administration, a White House spokesperson, Liz Huston, defended the president's labor record in a statement to the Free Press. "President Trump has fought harder for the American worker than any President in history," Huston said. "From day one, he delivered trillions of dollars in new investment, rolled back burdensome regulations, ended decades-long unfair trade practices that were ripping off American companies, and created thousands of jobs." The UAW has expressed support for Trump's work on tariffs, and, as Politico has reported, the Teamsters' president has supported his labor secretary. Conversely, the American Federation of Government Employees criticized Trump for ending collective bargaining for federal agencies tied to national security and is now among labor unions suing over the firing of federal workers, according to reports from The Associated Press and Reuters. More: In campaign-style rally, Trump touts accomplishments, roasts Democrats, in Warren Detroit resident Frank Hammer also attended the protest, saying he was worried about federal government workers' rights. "I'm here because I believe that workers currently are under severe attack…and this is the way of showing solidarity with workers across the U.S. and even across the world, and to speak out on behalf of the working class," Hammer, 82 and a former president and chairman of UAW Local 909, told the Free Press at the demonstration. Free Press reporter Darcie Moran contributed to this report. (This story was updated to add a video.) This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hundreds protest Trump's policies at May Day demonstration in Detroit
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Protesters rally against Trump administration at Capitol
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)— Hundreds of demonstrators are rallying at Michigan's Capitol to protest the Trump administration's recent moves. 50501 Michigan, an activist group, organized today's protest. , which stands for '50 protests. 50 states. 1 movement,' says that the message of the protest is to 'remove corrupt politicians, reverse harmful policies and reclaim democracy.' 50501 is a nationwide movement protesting many of the Trump administration's new policies. President Trump declared on April 2 a 10% baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozens of other nations. Trump's tariffs unleash trade war and calls for negotiations These new trade policies have caused a surge of economic uncertainty, with the S&P 500 falling 6% on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropping 5.8%, according to the AP. 6 News will have more on this story this evening. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
