Thousands gather in Philadelphia for May Day march

PHILADELPHIA—This May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, a crowd of thousands gathered at City Hall. The rally was sponsored by many local unions and progressive political organizations. The event was titled “For the Workers, Not the Billionaires May Day Rally.”

Vermons Senator Bernie Sanders, appearing as part of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour of rallies throughout the country, called on Pennsylvania representatives to make the right decisions in support of workers, not the billionaires: “I am here in Pennsylvania to tell any member of the Pennsylvania delegation that if they vote for tax breaks for billionaires and cut Medicaid, nutrition and education, we are going to throw them out of their jobs.”

Daniel Bauder, president of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO, also spoke to the crowd, noting that, “We all know that a better world truly is possible, but we also know that we can’t rely on politicians alone to fix it. We are the many, we have the power, not the billionaires or the oligarchs.”

While Bernie spoke to national representatives, amidst the crowd were local progressive political representatives, including State Representatives Chris Rabb and Rick Krajewski.

After circling City Hall, the rally continued marching down Broad Street. When marchers reached the intersection of Broad and Vine around 7 p.m., 70 labor leaders, elected officials, and union members shut down the intersection and were arrested. One could argue that this mass arrest illustrates the desperation and righteous anger that working people are facing under the current administration.

Throughout the upcoming months, workers will continue to fight for their fair share in the Philadelphia budget, and many upcoming union contracts, such as the teachers in PFT and AFSCME, represent city workers. There are also only twenty days left until the Philadelphia Democratic primaries on May 20, which is another chance for workers to raise their voice in the democratic process.