Pickets & Power: May Day On-the-Ground Reporting; 10,000 Michigan Nurses Ready to Strike
May Day On-the-Ground Reporting
Workers hit the streets across the country to mark International Workers Day – May Day – on May 1 with over 3,000 demonstrations and actions. The day of action was called by a broad national coalition, including major national and local unions as well as immigrant, community, student, and political organizations. Hundreds of thousands of workers participated from LA to NYC, effectively revitalizing May Day in the country where it originated.
This year, demonstrations showed the growing opposition to the Trump administration and their billionaire agenda. Looking to create greater disruption and economic pressure on the Trump administration and Corporate America, organizers raised the call for “no work, no school, no spending,” echoing the calls from the general strikes in Minneapolis earlier this year on January 23rd and January 30th. Major cities like Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles saw mass mobilizations with thousands hitting the streets in rallies and marches demanding an end to ICE terror and needless wars, taxing the rich, and full funding for public education, healthcare, and housing for all working people.
Students and their educators led major school shutdowns and walkouts across the country. In North Carolina, 22 out of 115 school districts closed or moved to remote learning for the day, meaning more than half of North Carolina educators shut down schools for the day under the banner of “Kids Over Corporations.” Over 10,000 students, educators, and workers rallied in Raleigh together in the largest demonstration in the Southeast.
In North Carolina, Christina Cole, President-elect of North Carolina Association of Educators, said “We’re demanding that we increase per pupil spending to the national average and get educator pay up because our kids and public school staff deserve it. We have had over 20 counties shut down in the last two weeks, so a majority of public school staff in North Carolina organized to shut down their schools, and we expect thousands in the streets in Raleigh today.”
In many cities, organizers led civil disobedience actions as well. Protestors blocked the entrances to the NYC stock exchange. In San Francisco, hundreds blocked the main lanes of SFO airport, causing major delays and disruption. Corporate actions targeted Home Depot, Hilton, and the American Petroleum Institute.
With the midterms approaching, many will look to the ballot box hoping to undercut Republican majorities in Congress to slow the Trump administration. Others have highlighted the Trump administration’s attempts to rig the elections by manipulating voting maps through Gerrymandering while pushing legislation and executive orders that aim to disenfranchise millions. Republicans and Trump are being forced to recognize their declining popularity as they push a right-wing anti-worker program. Rather than change their program to garner popular support, they are attempting to effectively steal the elections.
In LA, David Huerta, President of SEIU-USWW, said of the threats posted by Trump, “Our communities are under attack and we need to mobilize to defend them. We need to not just get out to vote in November, but to defend our democracy from attack… No one is coming to save us. In Spanish, we say “Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo” – meaning only the community can save ourselves.”
As the threat against the viability of free and fair elections in the midterms becomes increasingly clear, more voices are calling to continue to build on the momentum from No Kings and May Day to continue the shutdown movement – advocating to revive the tactic of the general strike. As the Trump administration continues its onslaught against the working class, another pressure cooker – like the federal occupation of Minnesota – may once again lead to calls for mass action to fight back and defend our communities through a general strike.
In Atlanta, Katie Giddy, a leader with the Union of Southern Service Workers and a Waffle House worker, said of Trump, “He’s trying to steal the election. I think he’s trying to steal the world in any way that he can. He’s one man, and we are millions and millions of working Americans, and we’re gonna stand in his way of that… We know the truth and we know our power that we hold and we are here to take our power back.”
On the Line brought reporting on these actions from coast to coast with the support of our volunteers, operating on a shoestring budget only a tiny fraction of mainstream media. We rely on your support to help bring you on-the-ground reporting like this. Support our work by signing up for a monthly contribution today.
10,000 Michigan Nurses Ready to Strike
Over 10,000 union nurses in Michigan are bargaining for their first contract with Corewell Health East at 9 hospitals across Southeastern Michigan. In 2024, nurses voted to unionize with Teamsters Local 2024 after facing an aggressive $1.7 million anti-union campaign funded by Corewell Health. Corewell formed from a recent merger in 2022 from other large healthcare systems in Michigan, now forming the largest healthcare system in Michigan with 21 hospitals total and hundreds of outpatient facilities.
Nurses have voted 90% to authorize a strike across the hospital system if they don’t get a fair contract soon. Showing their strength this past week, nurses have held practice pickets to prepare their strike muscles and show Corewell they are serious. Their core contract demands focus on improved staffing ratios, raises to keep up with inflation, and workplace safety concerns.
These are the same central demands seen in nursing fights across the country, reflecting chronic issues in the healthcare system accelerated by the pandemic. Staffing shortages since the pandemic have contributed to worsening conditions in hospitals for workers and patients, which has only led to more burnout and workers quitting the field. Fewer nurses on shift then put healthcare workers at greater risk for injury, working longer hours and more likely to be alone with patients under greater duress – a recipe for tragedy.
Nurses are organizing and demanding safe staffing levels and pay to improve retention to finally address the root causes. And it’s clear the nurses are feeling ready to strike if they need to. “This overwhelming strike vote shows that nurses are done being bullied into silence while executives put profits over patients and gamble with our safety and our licenses,” said Rachel Szadyr, a cardiac ICU nurse and member of the bargaining committee. The strike date could be set any day now, demanding the employer meet their demands or face a strike across the hospital system.
BONUS ROUND
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