On May 1, San Diego workers and community members came out to Chicano Park in the Barrio Logan neighborhood to march the streets of downtown in celebration of May Day, the international workers’ holiday.
The event began with a gathering at Chicano Park, where a number of speakers from various organizations, including the Party for Socialism and Liberation, rallied the people to stand up against racism, classism and imperialism.
Several activist organizations and unions stood together in solidarity for the rights of working people, including Union Del Barrio, Palestinian Youth Movement, Anakbayan, UAW, AFSC and African People’s Socialist Party. Throughout the day’s speeches, each organization made it clear that they had a common enemy — capitalist exploitation.
The theme for the event was “End the war on the working class.” The action placed special emphasis on dignity for all workers, demanding an end to war funding, the domestic war on Black and Brown communities, housing as a human right, critical education and democratic schooling and healthcare for all. “Stop the war on workers,” “We want justice,” “Black power matters,” and other revolutionary chants were heard throughout Chicano Park and the downtown area.
José Cortes of PSL San Diego addressed the crowd right before the march on struggle of workers to get the full value of their labor. Cortes empowered workers to “call for the end of the U.S. war machine” and to “organize to demand an end to capitalist exploitation.” It was a reminder that all the value a worker loses from their labor goes directly into the pockets of those in power, which is in turn used to commit physical and economic violence on individuals, not just in the United States, but across the whole world.
The rally drew a diverse crowd. People of all backgrounds came together despite all their differences for the common struggle against capitalism and the exploitation of workers. To truly win the healthcare, housing, and jobs that workers deserve, we must unite in solidarity and remember that the workers’ struggle has no borders. An injury to one is an injury to all!
