May Day is celebrated around the globe as International Workers Day. Begun in Chicago in 1886 in the struggle for an eight-hour workday, the event is commemorated each year with marches and rallies. In San Francisco this year, more than one thousand working people—dockworkers, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and many other unions and workers groups—rallied on May 1 and marched up Market Street, to protest racism and call for passage of the PRO Act by the U.S. Congress. Longtime activist Angela Davis was an honored guest. She marched and spoke at the rally. Labor journalist and photographer David Bacon was there and provided these images.
David Bacon
MayDay-1
Angela Davis marches with officers and members of Local 10, the longshore local of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). “We need to protect the right to organize, and to pass the PRO Act!,” she told the crowd.
David Bacon
MayDay-2
Domestic workers made up a large contingent of the march, each organization or union marching behind its banner.
David Bacon
MayDay-3
Asian American marchers called for international solidarity, one of the main ideas that is annually celebrated on May Day.
David Bacon
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A group of workers from the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees brought drums to the march, and danced to them during the rally at the march’s end.
David Bacon
MayDay-5
Several chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) mobilized dozens of members for this year’s May Day march. All came wearing red shirts, and carrying red banners and signs calling for support of the PRO Act.
David Bacon
MayDay-6
An organizer for the ILWU, and a DSA member, with a bass drum giving rhythm to the chants of the DSA contingent.
David Bacon
MayDay-7
San Francisco garbage collectors, members of the Teamsters Union, are in a fight to renew their contract with the city’s garbage contractor, Recology. They came pushing or carrying garbage cans to draw attention to the essential work they do, especially during a pandemic.
David Bacon
MayDay-8
A San Francisco janitor plays his tuba, as part of the band for his union, Service Employees Local 87.
David Bacon
MayDay-9
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) members came to the march calling for an end to the attacks on Asian American people, which have grown significantly in the wake of former President Trump’s anti-China rhetoric.
David Bacon
MayDay-10
Olga Miranda, president of San Francisco’s janitors union, Service Employees Local 87, told the crowd at the rally at the end of the May Day march that building owners had finally agreed to a contract after a bitter fight that included job actions and strikes. Miranda also called for passage of the PRO Act.
David Bacon
MayDay-11
A member of San Francisco’s hotel union, UniteHere Local 2, carried a home-made sign calling for protecting the right to organize by passing the PRO Act. The union has struck at hotels repeatedly in the past to demand the right of workers to organize in non-union facilities.
David Bacon
MayDay-12
A member of San Francisco’s janitors union, Service Employees Local 87, brought her daughter to march with her in the union contingent.
David Bacon
MayDay-13
Many mothers brought their kids to the march, and they used the opportunity to play in the middle of Market Street while their moms walked and talked.