NERMEEN SHAIKH: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org.

Millions around the world celebrated the International Workers’ Day of May Day on Thursday, including hundreds of thousands here in the United States. Unions and immigrant rights groups led rallies in every state against the Trump administration’s attack on labor protections, immigrants and asylum seekers, diversity initiatives and federal employees. In California, fast-food workers marched alongside university workers. An estimated 250,000 people marched in Chicago under a coalition led in part by the Chicago Teachers Union.

Police arrested 70 people for blocking the highway in Philadelphia after a rally at City Hall where independent Senator Bernie Sanders spoke against Trump’s billionaire agenda. Sanders has been on a nationwide Fighting the Oligarchy tour with Democratic Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who addressed a May Day rally in Manhattan Thursday night.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: We should never underestimate the power of organizing right now, in this moment. When they see us gather in the streets, you should know, when I go back to Washington, they talk about it, and they are getting very afraid. They are getting nervous, New York. And I want to give you a perfect example of this right now. We’ve seen — we’ve seen with our federal workers, them being laid off, cuts across the board. We’ve been seeing our VA workers and those who serve our veterans being cut off and laid off without dismissal. We’ve been seeing individuals calling for a ceasefire getting locked up and suspended of their due rights. …

Next week, the Republican caucus was scheduled to mark up — is scheduled to mark up cuts, dramatic cuts, to Medicaid, to seniors and vulnerable people across the country. But we’ve been rallying folks. In fact, right now, as I speak here, Senator Sanders is at a 5,000-person rally in Philadelphia. And we are joined by brothers and sisters across the country. And one of the things that I’ve just learned, coming up on this stage, as we’ve been rallying in Idaho, 12,000 people in Idaho, 36,000 in Los Angeles, 34,000 in Denver, 23,000 in Tucson, 15,000 in Phoenix, 9,000 in Missoula, Montana, and today, 6,000 here, right here in Foley Square in New York City — and as I was walking up to this stage, we found out that they have — that they have stopped and suspended next week’s Medicaid cuts, because they’re getting too scared.

AMY GOODMAN: That was New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressing the May Day rally in New York. She has been crisscrossing the country with Bernie Sanders on their Fighting Oligarchy tour.

Democracy Now!’s María Inés Taracena was in the streets as thousands marched in New York, and spoke to some of the protesters.

COUNCILMEMBER TIFFANY CABÁN: My name is Councilmember Tiffany Cabán. I’m New York City Councilmember of District 22 in Queens.

MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: What is the significance of this day? It’s May Day. What does May Day mean to you and everyone who’s gathered here in the era of Trump’s second presidency?

COUNCILMEMBER TIFFANY CABÁN: Yeah, I mean, May Day, it represents a very united struggle, one of intersectional solidarity. May Day represents all of the labor wins that working people have won throughout decades. And it really represents the energy of the fight that we are ready to put up against this Trump administration, especially when we know that the administration is the enemy to the worker. And so, it’s a beautiful thing to say all workers, we’re standing with each other. And you see that in this crowd. You have unions. You have community-based organizations. You have immigrant workers, queer and trans workers. You have workers of every stripe, color and creed. And it’s a really beautiful thing. And also, we know that this is the last line of defense, especially at the local level, and so getting really clear about what our agenda is, what exactly we are going to be fighting for.

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBER: ¿Qué queremos?

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBERS: ¡Justicia!

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBER: ¿Cuando?

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBERS: ¡Ahora!

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBER: ¡Aquí estamos!

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBERS: ¡Y no nos vamos!

LUZ CAMPOVERDE: [translated] My name is Luz Campoverde. I’m a member of Laborers Local 79. … We are here to fight for our rights, to fight for our freedom, to fight for dignified work and for respect for our immigrant brothers and sisters, regardless of being undocumented or not. We want freedom to work to support our families, our children. … My message is that without immigrants, the United States would suffer. Our work has enriched this country. We are hard workers. We are fighters. We are not criminals.

PROTESTERS: ¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!

QWEEN AMOR: My name is Qween Amor. I am a trans woman of color, born of a Black Cuban refugee, who was my father. And born from an immigrant, I understand the importance of fighting for the liberation of migrants. I chose to dress like the Statue of Liberty in shackles, because the Statue of Liberty used to be a beacon of hope for those seeking refuge and those seeking asylum and those seeking a sense of liberty, people who want to work and people who want to be here and feel safe, who have a right to be here and a right to feel safe. But that is not extended to people who are Black migrants, people who are Brown migrants, the people who speak something other than English. We’re living where racism is dominating our communities. And hopefully, you know, we’re able to fight for the liberation and a unified solidarity among the working class.

PROTESTER: If we don’t get it?

PROTESTERS: Shut it down!

PROTESTER: If we don’t get it?

PROTESTERS: Shut it down!

T.D. MITCHELL: My name is T.D. Mitchell. I’m a professional writer and a member of the Writers Guild of America. I’ve been a union member since I was 18 years old, so the fight of labor has always been my fight. My mom is also a union member, a state employees union member. And she really instilled in me the desire to protest, the desire to make some noise and make good trouble. I think it’s very important as a disabled person, as a wheelchair user, to represent those in my community who are too ill and in bed and cannot be here to advocate for themselves. So, I feel that while I have the capacity, it is incumbent upon me to do that, to represent more than just me here today.

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBER: The mighty, mighty union!

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBERS: The mighty, mighty union!

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBER: The organized union!

LABORERS LOCAL 79 MEMBERS: The organized union!

BARRY KNITTLE: I’ve been to a lot of rallies in my day, obviously. And I’ve got to say, this is one of the most powerful rallies I’ve been to. And I think it’s because the unions are here, and the unions are so united. It is just giving me a huge boost of hope that we’re going to get over this authoritarian scheme and we’ll come out on top. And I really — I feel that with all my heart. I’m just grateful to the unions. We’re on the precipice of losing our democracy. These authoritarian Republicans and their sycophants that are enabling them are putting our democracy at risk. I feel like they’re acting with such impunity now, that it’s sort of scary. They must feel that they don’t have to worry about losing elections anymore. And we have to show them that, yes, they do. We’re not going to take this lying down.

KRISTIN FLANDERS: My name is Kristin Flanders. I’m an actor, and I’m with — I’m an SDC union member. But my sign says, “Support federal workers: The CDC saved my daughter’s life.” I was — when I was pregnant, I was told that I had contracted measles. But the only place where it could be proved was at the CDC. I’m sorry, I’m going to cry. They had to take some amniotic fluid from he, and they had to send it — there was only one place in the country that tested my amniotic fluid, and it was the CDC. And I did not have measles. So, I was getting advice that I should terminate the pregnancy. And I have a great daughter because of the CDC.

MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: Thank you for sharing your story. And what is your message to — right now we’re seeing a measles epidemic, the secretary of health and human services, RFK Jr., spreading disinformation. What is your message to him? And your message to the Trump administration, trying to dismantle federal agencies like the CDC?

KRISTIN FLANDERS: My message to RFK would be, I went to school with kids who were severely damaged because their parents, mothers had measles when they were pregnant. And the most important thing is vaccination for public health. We have eradicated it, and it’s irresponsible. And science is a great and effective and a wonderful thing, and we have to trust it.

PAT: My name is Pat. And looking at the news, reading the news and seeing what is happening in the last hundred days, I don’t think one can help but be moved and angry and inspired to do just a little bit, even if it’s to be part of the march, to see if we can turn things around. It’s scary. I am a naturalized citizen, and I don’t think I’m any safer than anybody who’s there. When you get to feeling that way, you feel frustrated, and you just want to do something. So, I’ve been a naturalized citizen for over 20 years, but it’s still scary, you know? And I tell my friends, “They come for them today. They’re coming for us in the morning.” So, I just want to do whatever I can, whenever I can.

MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: And where are you from, and what are you fighting for, and who are you fighting for?

PAT: Originally, I’m from Grenada in the West Indies. I’ve been here since 1968. I went to school. I worked at one company for 31 years. And I’m fighting for my granddaughter, who’s 3 years old, and one who’s 16 years old, because I don’t think things will be the same if we continue this way. The opportunities that I’ve had, I don’t think they will have it. And it hurts my heart to see people just getting picked up, and you don’t hear anything about it.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Democracy Now!’s María Inés Taracena interviewing May Day marchers in New York on Thursday. Special thanks to Laura Bustillos.

When we come back, we’ll speak to professor Angela Davis, who gave the keynote address last night at a Jewish Voice for Peace conference in Baltimore. Stay with us.

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AMY GOODMAN: That’s Patti Smith performing “Grateful” in Democracy Now!’s studios in 2015. And we are so grateful for that.