Thousands march in Minnesota to commemorate International Workers Day, rain or shine

By Mira Altobell-Resendez and Sophie Breen

St. Paul, MN — Over 7000 people took to the streets from the Minnesota State Capitol, May 1, to commemorate International Workers Day 2025. Attendees of the protest rallied and marched for over three hours in rainy weather to demand an end to attacks on immigrants and workers, to fight Trump’s billionaire agenda, and for legalization for all.

The event was organized by a coalition made up of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), Minnesota Workers United (MWU), Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM), and Asamblea de Derechos Civiles (Asamblea). It was endorsed by over 50 local community organizations and unions, including the Minnesota AFL-CIO, Minneapolis Federation of Educators, SEIU local 26, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Indigenous Protectors Movement, Minnesota 8, and MN Anti-War Committee.

Beto Villanueva of MIRAC stated, “Immigrants are essential. We contribute to the economy. We help keep this country alive. And we’ve been doing it while being targeted more and paid less – while being disrespected and undervalued. The systems are built to divide us. They want workers to blame immigrants. They want to pit trans people and women against each other. They want poor folks to fight poorer folks. It’s all a game to divide us. But we see through that. We stand together.”

Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants CWA, AFL-CIO spoke to the long fight for workers’ rights. She said, “100 years ago workers didn’t have legal rights, they organized and built them through solidarity.” She also stated that we must stand together, “No one is born with racism, sexism or bigotry in their heart. These are the tactics from the boss to keep us from exercising our power and gaining our fair share.”

Rachel Dionne-Thunder of the Indigenous Protector Movement grounded protesters by saying, “Today is a reminder of the power of the people. These borders crossed us, we did not cross these borders. This country is built on an illusion of power, but the true power is with the people. Now is the time to say enough is enough!”

Marcia Howard of the Minnesota Federation of Teachers Local 59 spoke in strong support of immigrant students and colleagues. She urged listeners to stand up in solidarity, saying: “I need you to think about your neighbor. The immigrants we are talking about are your neighbors. They are your coworkers. They are your students’ classmates. I need you to pick a side and if you’re standing here, you better not be on the side of any billionaire.”

During the rainy march, the crowd was energized by a group of young people. The middle schoolers, who organized a walkout at their school, led chants like “No one is illegal, all power to the people!”

At a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric is rampant, the people of Minnesota stood up to send a clear message that they stand united in solidarity with workers and immigrants across the country.

#StPaulMN #MN #Labor #ImmigrantsRights #MIRAC #AFACWA #MWU #MIM #Asamblea #MFE #SEIU