Report Back from May Day

FEATURING SONALI KOLHATKAR – Masses of people around the United States marched on May Day over the weekend to draw links between workers rights, income inequality, immigration, and the upcoming election. Over the past decade, immigrant workers have led marches on the day considered globally to mark labor rights.

In fact Saturday marked the tenth anniversary of the great May Day marches of 2006. Ten years ago, in Southern California where this program is produced, half a million people surged onto the streets of downtown Los Angeles, and KPFK, my radio station, organized a live broadcast that I produced and hosted. Nationwide about one and a half million people are estimated to have marched to demand humane immigration reform, walking off their jobs in a “Day Without Immigrants.”

On Saturday May 1st, I walked among thousands of people who marched to mark May Day in Los Angeles. Like people all over the country, the march was dominated by immigrant workers calling for a preservation of President Obama’s executive orders DACA and DAPA, but also calling out the hateful rhetoric of GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump. Here are some of the voices I encountered.