02-05-2025
‘May Day. We Love the Constitution.' Hundreds join worker rally, protest Trump, on Boston Common
Union members from the MIT graduate student union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, Boston Teachers Union, and various locals of the Service Employees International Union gathered in solidarity near the Parkman Bandstand.
They stood united, taking aim at President Trump's embrace of tariffs, federal job cuts, the attack on higher education, and other key pieces of his agenda.
'All power to the workers not the billionaires!' read a banner near the bandstand.
'MAY DAY — We Love the Constitution!' read one crimson sign.
Handmade signs rose above the sea of heads, bearing slogans such as 'The power of the people is stronger than the people in power!' and 'Hands off our higher ed! Hands off our unions!'
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'Since Trump returned to office, he has made it his mission to attack the labor movement and workers left and right,' Amari Butler of the Party for Socialism and Liberation said from the bandstand. 'They want to weaken our movements by pitting us against each other. Are we going to let them get away with it?'
'No!' the crowd shouted.
Tyler Picl-Ludwig, 22, came as 'part of a labor force that is not yet unionized, in support of the unions that are here, and hoping to one day build our own union.'
'That's what this rally is all about, is every individual workforce coming together and not only representing ourselves, but also upholding each other,' he said. 'Because this country is built off of workers.'
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'Workers' issues matter for all of us,' said Michael Berger, 58, of Boston. 'So solidarity is really important. And those of us who have any kind of privilege, whether we're union members and are somewhat protected because we have a union, or whether in any other way we're more protected, it's important for us to stand up for those on the margins who are vulnerable.'
'It's really important that we protect everybody, because otherwise no one's protected,' he said.
'It's about allyship,' said Peter Cornell, 26, a private school teacher who came to the protest despite having no 'direct ties to what we're protesting today.'
'It's about showing up for what you believe in, even if you're not in that exact community. … I came today, and I hope they show up for LGBTQ+ rights because I am LGBTQ+.'
Solidarity was the word of the evening, even for issues beyond traditional labor. Ukrainian, Palestinian, and pride flags flew alongside American flags.
'Collective action is the way forward,' shouted SEIU 509 president Dave Foley in his speech.
Elizabeth King, 75, spoke about how she rejects the idea of the flag as an antithesis to protest.
'Everybody is a patriot who wants America to be a democracy,' she said.
