Billings rallies for International Workers’ Day

Billings, MT – On Friday, May 1, the Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights (BAIR) held a protest at the Yellowstone County Courthouse to celebrate International Workers’ Day. 40 people rallied to demand ICE get out of Billings, stop the deportations, and to fight for workers’ and immigrants’ rights.

As the rally was beginning, a pro-ICE disrupter stumbled around the crowd, belligerently shouting anti-immigrant statements. Protesters quickly shut this down by chanting “Up, up with liberation! Down, down with deportations!” and blocking the man with their bodies and signs. The racist counter-protester quickly gave up and walked into traffic to shout by himself on the opposite side of the road. Rally-goers celebrated and held that militant and enthusiastic energy for the rest of the protest.

Mindy Nielsen, a member of BAIR and retired, forty-plus year rank-and-file member of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 132 addressed the crowd first. Nielsen spoke about the 46-year-old Amazon warehouse worker in Oregon who died while working. His peers were forced to continue working as his body lay on the floor for over an hour before medics were called.

Nielsen recalled similar treatment working at USPS, saying, “The lack of concern for workers was the same before I retired. We were not allowed to call 911, even if we could find a phone with an outside line. And this was before cell phones. My APWU union was able to stop that insanity!”

Delphine Camarillo, granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and executive board member of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local 775 has worked as a homecare giver for 34 years. She spoke about the protection for immigrant workers won by her union.

“We formed immigration working committees and added language to our contract to protect those who need it. Our employees will not cooperate with ICE any more than they have to according to the real and pre-existing laws,” Camarillo stated. She closed her speech by chanting “When we fight, we win!” with the crowd.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) member Lain Dorsey, gave the final speech, explaining the logic behind Trump’s attacks. “Donald Trump is a reactionary! The cuts to social services, launching illegal wars, and using ICE to terrorize immigrants is a reaction to the progress that we’ve made for workers’ and immigrants’ rights.”

Dorsey continued, “Trump and his billionaire friends want to turn back the clock on the progress our movements have made. Are we gonna let them do that?” Protesters shouted “Hell no!”

May Day is a celebration of the contributions of labor activists, but it is also a reminder that the struggle continues. This was highlighted as the workers, union members and family members of immigrants closed the protest by invoking the late Assata Shakur, chanting, “We have nothing to lose but our chains!”

#BillingsMT #MT #Labor #ImmigrantsRights #MayDay