02-05-2025
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.
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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.
