Solidarity Forever!
Scenes from the 2017 May Day March in San Diego, CA
The day normally observed all over the globe as International Workers’ Day was recently, and very oddly, re-named here in the US, by the 45th president, as Loyalty Day. Its been over 130 years since the infamous Haymarket affair in Chicago where blood was shed in the fight for the 8-hour work day — A right almost everyone benefits from these days — And yet laborers still have a long way to go. Especially in the light of the current administration’s lack of attention to their problems. Many workers still struggle to make a living wage and for safe working conditions, things that should just be a given in 2017.
San Diego joined a long list of cities hosting demonstrations in defense of worker and immigration rights on Monday. The generously sized crowd that gathered at the Federal Building was made up of people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, coming together to create a force bigger then each of these groups ever could on their own. Except for a few of the president’s supporters showing up in confusing displays of intimidation, the atmosphere of the rally and march was one of strength, solidarity and hope for the community and the world.
