Politics
Anti-Trump Protesters Demand Protections for Immigrants, Workers in Chicago May Day March
Protesters march on Washington Boulevard near Union Park to protest the Trump administration’s policies on May Day, or International Workers’ Day, on May 1, 2025. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
Chicagoans from a diverse coalition of local grassroots organizations and labor unions marched the streets Thursday afternoon to protest the Trump administration’s policies. May 1 is known as May Day or International Workers’ Day.
The march, which brought out participants in the thousands, aimed to unify against the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant rights in addition to protesting the mass layoffs of federal workers, corporate greed, U.S. aid to Israel and the dismantling of public services, according to organizers.
Protesters were met with cloudy conditions and on-and-off rain as they kicked off the march along a predetermined route from Union Park in the West Loop to Grant Park downtown.
“As we say in Spanish, ‘Ni la lluvia ni el viento detendrán nuestro movimiento,’ not the wind or the rain will stop our movement,” said Ethan Aronson, a religious organizer with Arise Chicago, an immigrant workers’ rights organization. “It’s a little harder to go out, but it’s nothing compared to the hardship faced by families facing deportation, workers who are mistreated on the job.”
Protesters gather at Union Park the morning of May 1, 2025, ahead of a May Day march. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
A march attendee, Terry Sadowski, said labor unions have been attacked under the Trump administration through what he describes as anti-union changes to the National Labor Relations Board and also through efforts to disband OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which aims to set and enforce safe working condition standards.
“I come from a long line of union family,” Sadowski said. “All my family was in the UAW, so my mom always told me, ‘Shut up and do what you’re told,’ and my dad said, ‘Get a good union job,’ so that’s why I’m here today.”
The first-ever May Day event was held in Chicago on May 1, 1886, when thousands of workers protested for an eight-hour workday. The historic Haymarket Riot occurred days later, when a bomb went off at a labor demonstration, killing civilians and police officers, and resulting in hundreds of arrests.
Rocio Bautista, a research specialist at the UIC School of Public Health, said she and her colleagues are facing potential federal funding cuts to their research.
Protesters gather at Union Park the morning of May 1, 2025, ahead of a May Day march. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
Bautista said their research involves working with domestic workers, manufacturer workers, hospital workers and street vendors to learn more about worker health and safety.
“The research that we’re doing is very impactful, and we need to do it in order to protect people’s lives and protect worker health,” Bautista said, holding a sign that read, “No Hate, No Fear, Immigrants Are Welcome Here!”
During the morning of the march, attendees gathered in Union Park for a multi-faith prayer service and speaker rally before kicking off the march around noon.
“Bless the workers who rise early and return home late, whose sweat waters the foundation of this beautiful society, grant them rest, fairness and safety,” Imam Hassan Aly said during a prayer. “Bless the immigrants, those who leave behind lands they love, crossing deserts, borders, oceans in searching of dignity. Do not let their sacrifice be wasted.”
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
