![](https://erikmcgregor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EM-190501-MayDay-032.jpg)
New York, NY – Hundreds of New Yorkers gathered in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle on May 1, 2019 in celebration of May Day — an occasion often synonymous with fighting for workers’ rights — in support of issues ranging from fair wages for restaurant workers, to lower tuition costs, to fighting against Trump’s proposed border wall.
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And while the focus of the demonstrations differed, many used May 1 as a way to come together under a collective voice.
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Participants were holding signs that argued against “capitalist exploitation of immigrant workers” and said there should be “no walls in the workers struggle” — a play on Trump’s proposed border wall.
![](https://erikmcgregor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EM-190501-MayDay-030.jpg)
May Day has been synonymous with International Workers’ Day for decades but in recent years the holiday also has been used as a soap box for overlapping issues covering a range of issues from income inequality to environmental protections and racism.
![](https://erikmcgregor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EM-190501-MayDay-026.jpg)
May Day dates back to 1886 when about 300,000 workers across the country walked out of their jobs, using the demonstration to demand better conditions, such as an eight-hour workday, according to the Industrial Workers of the World union.
![May Day protests in New York City](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/40787598983_95d01f7d84_o.jpg)
© Erik McGregor – erikrivas@hotmail.com – 917-225-8963