Coalition Of Union Leaders And Community Activists Calling For People To Protest On May Day

Photos: People’s Organization For Progress

A broad coalition of unions and community organizations held a press conference recently to issue a call for demonstrations on May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, which is observed annually on May 1st. 

The press conference, hosted by numerous labor and advocacy groups, took place Wednesday, April 22nd, at Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey.

“We are having this press conference today to make a collective call for people to come out and protest and engage in various types of activities on May Day, which is rooted in labor’s struggle for the eight hour work day, the right to organize unions, and engage in collective bargaining,” Lawrence Hamm, [shown above] Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated. 

“We want people to come out because working people are struggling, suffering, losing ground, and some are going under. We must voice our opposition to the domestic and international policies of the Trump administration,” Hamm said. 

On Friday, May 1, 2026 the coalition will have a May Day rally and march. The rally will start 11:00 am at the Lincoln Statue, 12 Springfield Avenue in Newark. A march to the federal building at 970 Broad Street after the rally is also planned.

Hamm said that people are urged not only to participate in the protest in Newark but to attend all the May Day activities being held around the state. Marches and rallies are scheduled for Jersey City, Princeton, and other towns, cities, and college campuses. 

Besides protest people will observe May Day by adhering to the national call for “no work, no school, and no shopping.” Others will observe it by participating in educational, cultural, recreational, social, and political activities.

“We are under attack, the middle class, the poor, working families, and those who have been marginalized. We need to make this the biggest May Day ever,” Charles Hall, president, Local 108 Retail Wholesale Department Store Union RWDSU stated. 

Hall underscored the importance of solidarity across movements. He emphasized labor unity and coalition building. He also reaffirmed labor’s support for immigrant workers describing them as essential to the nation’s economy. 

Jennifer S. Higgins, President, American Federation of Teachers discussed the danger of fascism in the United States today, and its relationship to education. “An educated citizenry is the cornerstone of democracy, and so we need to come out on May 1st to save our democracy,” Higgins said. 

Ana Maria Hill, Vice President and New Jersey State Director of 32BJ SEIU, discussed the challenges and hardships faced by members of her union many of whom who are immigrants. Hill said the country has been hijacked by the billionaires. “I’m ready to take back our country on May Day and fight for our democracy,” she said. 

“Unions have always been the bulwark against fascism and the rising tide of totalitarianism. They are afraid of unions because they know the power we have when we come together,” Steve Beatty, President, New Jersey Education Association stated. 

Beatty expressed his support for the May Day protests. “The oligarchs are getting richer but we built this country and it’s damn time we take it back. We have to get back to a fairer economy. It’s a matter of economic justice and that’s what unions have always done,” he said. 

“May Day is our day,” John Marino, Organizer, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT DC21). He pointed out that “the divide between the haves and have nots has reached a breaking point” and that we must fight back. 

Thomas Giblin, President, Essex-West Hudson Labor Council, President, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 68, and former state assemblyman said he that he hoped the May 1st protest will be successful. 

He also noted that April 28 is Workers Memorial Day and that we should “remember the people who lose their lives every year on the job.” He reminded the audience that in addition to protest we must get legislation that will benefit labor passed. 

Giblin also said that New Jersey is a state with one of the highest levels of union membership density. “We should all do our part to get a good crowd out for the protest. United we stand, divided we fall. Let’s get the word out on the importance of being there,” he said. 

“We have to wake up everybody,” Clifton “Buddy” Smith, President, International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1233 stated. He was reminding the audience of a famous R&B song by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes which urged people to get involved in efforts to improve conditions in our communities. He said he would get the word out to his union members about the May 1st protest. 

Larry Hirsh, President, American Federation of Government Employees Local 913 said that members of his union were severely impacted by the job cuts implemented by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headed up by Elon Musk. He said those cuts “hurt the workers and hurt the public.” He said that he will participate in the Newark May Day protest. 

Paula Rogovin, a representative of Food & Water Watch, drew a connection between the labor movement and the environment. Rogovin noted that the day on which the press conference was being held was Earth Day. She said her group would be supporting protests in Newark and Jersey City.  

“We are being dragged into wars for oil and wars for fossil fuels. We must fight for renewable energy and environmental justice. We must tax the rich and make the polluters pay,” Rogovin said. 

“We call on the legislature and Governor Sherrill to pass the S2328, the Polluters Pay Act which would generate 50 billion dollars to make our communities safer against the impact of climate change,” she said. 

“We believe it is not enough to pray. We must get out there and act. We must all say no justice, no peace,” Terri Corso, a representative of Sophia Inclusive Community stated. She urged churches to support the May Day protests.  

Corso spoke about the importance of anti-racism education and action. She said people must break through the barriers of segregated white suburbs and urban black and brown communities. “Real solidarity is when we protest together,” she said.

Larry Adams, Vice Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress, and a former union local president speaking about the press conference said, “this was an historic occasion with labor, community, and faith based coming together. We are building a popular movement to fight for popular justice. Today we stand with the workers of the world.”

“I recently returned from Memphis where Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated. He built a powerful movement. We have the potential to build a movement like that. Let’s make our May Day protest one of the steps to get it done,” Hamm said. 

The May Day event in Newark has been endorsed by the People’s Organization For Progress, the Martin Luther King People’s Convention for Justice and Resistance Planning Committee, Local 108 Retail Wholesale Department Store Union RWDSU UFCW AFL-CIO, the New Jersey AFL-CIO, Painters Union IUPAT DC 21, New Jersey Education Association, American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, 32BJ SEIU, Laborers’ International Union of North America Eastern Region, 1199J AFSCME, Essex West Hudson Labor Council, I.U.O.E Local 68, ILA Local 1233, American Federation of Government Employees Local 913, Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association New Jersey, Communication Workers of America Local 1031, NAACP Newark, Food & Water Watch, Empower NJ, Climate Revolution Action Network, Ironbound Community Corporation, Sophia Inclusive Community, and New Jersey Peace Action.

Some of the coalition’s May Day demands include increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15.00 per hour, passage of legislation to facilitate unionization, ending racial discrimination in hiring and promotions, equal pay for equal work.

Other demands include fair contracts, the establishment of a living wage in the U.S., paid sick leave, universal child care, Medicare For All, free college, elimination of student debt, and a national federal jobs program to eliminate unemployment.

In addition the coalition is demanding an end to the war in Iran, cutting military spending, restoration of the cuts in social programs, rehiring federal workers that have lost their jobs, rescinding tax cuts for billionaires, and increased federal funding for public education.

For more information about today’s rally please call People’s Organization for Progress at 973 801-0001.