Portlanders stage multiple protests on May Day

Portland, OR – May Day was a busy one in Portland, as four events were held throughout the day and into the evening. These collectively mobilized thousands of people to resist the Trump agenda and to fight for workers and immigrants’ rights.

The first event of the day was organized by 50501 Portland Oregon, with many other organizations present or even speaking, including Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD), Democratic Socialists of America, and local unions such as Oregon Nurses Association and SEIU Local 503. The rally began at Portland State University at 1 p.m., followed by a march around downtown Portland.

Cass Cano of PDXCD spoke on the injustices of the U.S. immigration system, stating, “The path to obtaining green card status is full of hurdles. Whether it be the legal costs or the chance that any little error will get your case closed and possibly even deported. No one deserves to live like this, where at any moment they may be ripped away from their families and community! No one deserves to live afraid of going to school, work, or shopping, always worrying about their safety.”

The next event in the day was a rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square downtown at 4:30 p.m., organized by 50501 Portland (distinct from the previously mentioned 50501 group) and Indivisible Oregon. The demands of this event included stable housing, union protection and education for all, regardless of immigration status.

The third event of the day and the final one taking place downtown was a rally organized by the Portland Association of Teachers at Terry Schrunk Plaza at 5:30 p.m. Demands centered on the actions of the Trump administration, calling for an end to attacks on oppressed communities, Social Security and Medicaid.

At the same time, FRSO and PDXCD organized a march and rally in Southeast Portland, at Sewallcrest Park. Palestinian liberation, immigrant rights, and the growing labor movement were the main topics addressed. Omar Gil of FRSO galvanized the crowd to act by saying, “We must unite the many to defeat the few. Power is never conceded, it is won,” and later declaring, “Whether it be at the workplace, in the fields, or in our neighborhoods, the time now is not one to hide but rather to stand firmly shoulder to shoulder with each other and fight back!”

After the rally, the crowd took to the streets of Southeast Portland, with expressions of solidarity coming from onlookers and chants of “Who’s got the power? We got the power!” and “Union power on the rise, now’s the time to organize!”

This year’s May Day demonstrations showed increased public anger following the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term, anger that shows no signs of subsiding and that is now being focused towards mobilizing against the system that gave us Trump in the first place.

#PortlandOR #OR #Labor #ImmigrantsRights #PDXCD