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Crowds marched along El Camino Real Friday evening for a May Day rally in Mountain View that celebrated workers and denounced what protesters described as the nation’s slide towards oligarchical rule under the Trump administration.
The May 1 demonstration was part of “May Day Strong,” a nationwide day of action coordinated by a broad coalition of labor unions, political groups and grassroot organizations. The event on International Workers’ Day called for participants to boycott work and school and to refrain from shopping.
In Mountain View, more than 100 people convened at Rengstorff Park at 5:45 p.m. to kick off the rally. Protesters held handmade signs with messages that read “Stop the Billionaire Takeover,” “ICE Out for Good” and “No War.” Around 15 minutes later, the group started marching toward El Camino Real, where onlookers waved from the sidewalks and drivers honked in support.
“We’re here for a multitude of reasons,” said Mountain View resident Mariya Genzel, an event co-organizer from Blue Turn Indivisible. “People are concerned about the destruction of civil rights, workers’ rights and increasing inequality under the Trump administration.”
“The people united will never be divided!” marchers chanted as they headed to Civic Center Plaza. By 7 p.m., most of the protesters had reached downtown Mountain View, joining a large crowd at the plaza that formed a semicircle to listen to the event’s speakers.
David Samelson, a Los Altos United Methodist Church pastor, paid tribute to the Mountain View Day Worker Center, a local nonprofit that matches day laborers with employers.
For months, Samelson and others have been showing up at the center to stand vigil in case federal authorities enter the premises to detain workers – a heightened fear in the community since the Trump administration launched its crackdown on immigrants.
“It has become one of the most meaningful hours of my week,” Samelson said. “What I found there is not just vigilance, as powerful as that is, but joy, community, connection, laughter, the quiet, steady dignity of people who show up each week to seek work, to build life, to care for their families.”
Veronica Avendano, representing Papeles para Todos, which translates as “Papers for All,” said she came to the rally to uplift the voices of immigrants. But it is not just about immigrants, she said in Spanish. It also is about the working class and fighting for a better world.
“We are all facing the same threat, and every attack must be fought with organization, mass mobilization and solidarity,” Avendano said to cheers and applause from the crowd.
The rally was an opportunity to put out a call to action, according to Jake, an event organizer who declined to give his last name. He was representing Bay Resistance Mountain View Action Pod, a local activist group.
“Today, we are marching not only in remembrance of these past struggles and demonstrations, but to call attention to the three new demands,” he said. “Abolish ICE, papers for all, and no war with Iran.”
For many of the protesters, the rally was a chance to show their collective opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies and to make their voices heard.
“This is an unprecedented time,” said Sunnyvale resident Russ Hull. “But people are beginning to wake up. We, the people, are the only hope.”
I’m always happy to see folks show up for these events to help ensure our voices are heard!