Rallies and marches are planned in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles and Boyle Heights Wednesday to mark International Workers Day, also known as May Day, continuing a tradition dating back to the 19th century.
One of Wednesday's most-attended events will likely be a rally beginning at 2 p.m. at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and North Gower Street in Hollywood, with a march to follow at 3 p.m., ending with a second rally at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
The theme of the march is "Solidarity is Power: The People United." The Los Angeles May Day Coalition say the demonstration will bring together support for better wages, housing for all, a path to citizenship, the right to strike, and calls for a ceasefire in war-torn areas and an end to all wars.
The coalition includes the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, United Teachers Los Angeles, the Service Employees International Union, IATSE Local 839, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Communist Party USA and Democratic Socialists of America - Los Angeles.
In the lead-up to the day, the various contingents were preparing posters, banners, and flyers to signal their presence. Organizers say the word on the street is to wear the color red.
A demonstration at MacArthur Park is planned for 4:30 p.m., calling for "Worker Power Worldwide!" and "Don't Comply with Genocide!"
Organizers say that after gathering at the park, there will be a march to the USC campus "to support the pro-Palestinian encampment."
The ninth annual May Day Boyle Heights is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. with a rally for immigrant and worker rights at Mariachi Plaza, 1831 First St.
May Day Boyle Heights is organized by Centro CSO, whose May Day demands include legalized status for everyone who has entered the United States without authorization, protecting public education and community control over the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
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Labor groups have conducted rallies and protests on May 1 since 1890, originally commemorating the anniversary of the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886, when what began as a peaceful rally in Chicago's Haymarket Square in support of workers striking for an eight-hour work day ended with an unknown person throwing a dynamite bomb at police as they acted to disperse the meeting.
The blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of seven police officers and at least four civilians. Eight anarchists were convicted of conspiracy in a trial their supporters called unfair and a serious miscarriage of justice. Seven were sentenced to death and one to a term of 15 years in prison.
Illinois Gov. Richard Oglesby commuted two of the sentences to terms of life in prison while another committed suicide in jail before his scheduled execution. The other four were hanged on Nov. 11, 1887. Illinois Gov. John Peter Altgeld pardoned the remaining defendants in 1893 and criticized the trial.
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