Paraprofessional Representative Jeremiah Bornemann of PS/IS 276 in Manhattan stands with fellow unionists to call for stronger labor rights at this year’s May Day rally.
Wearing UFT blue, chanting in unison and carrying signs, members of the UFT Member Action Committee and the Retired Teachers Chapter Labor Solidarity Project marched alongside thousands of other New York City union members and community groups in one of the city’s largest May Day protests in recent years. New York City’s May 1 march was one of 4,000 events nationwide in the “Workers Over Billionaires” day of action that called for stronger labor rights and taxes for the wealthiest Americans to adequately fund public education, affordable housing and social services.
May Day “is all about showing solidarity and respect for our fellow brothers and sisters in the struggle,” explained Nicholas Cruz, UFT’s director of community and parent engagement, who led the UFT’s May Day organizing team.
International Workers’ Day, or May Day, began on May 1, 1886, when the American Federation of Labor organized a general strike to protest worker exploitation and demand an eight-hour workday. Now, 140 years later, the UFT commemorated this powerful legacy of working-class organizing and protest by marching and hosting an afterparty for the Federal Unionists Network (FUN) at UFT headquarters.
“A broad swath of the labor movement came out to Shanker Hall,” said Paraprofessional Representative Jeremiah Bornemann of PS/IS 276 in Lower Manhattan, noting the size, diversity and solidarity of the crowd. “An attack against one is an attack against us all.” The gathering offered the community a chance to hear from and learn about New York City federal union members, including from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, who are organizing to resist agency relocations, union-busting, and cuts to federal services.
The speakers let fellow union members know how they’re mobilizing and fighting back legally.
The event was worthwhile and inspiring, Bornemann said. “Having those conversations, talking to each other, and finding out about upcoming rallies, mobilizations, and where we can plug in was the reason to be there.”