Space Coast marks May Day with rally for immigrant and workers’ rights

Space Coast, FL – On May 1, over 100 workers, union members and community members rallied at Kiwanis Park to mark International Workers’ Day, featuring a series of speeches by community organizers and union members.

Speakers included members from the Airline Pilots Association (AFL-CIO), the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance and the pro-Palestine community organization Space Coast Progress Hub. Their demands were heard loud and clear: workers over billionaires, taxing the rich, standing with immigrant workers and highlighting the Palestinian struggle.

Caroline Abidin, member of the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance opened her speech by asking the crowd to join her in chanting, “Los inmigrantes son bienvenidos aquí.” Her speech marked the 20th anniversary of May Day 2006, known as A Day Without Immigrants, when millions of people marched nationwide to protest the anti-immigrant bill HR 4437.

Abidin emphasized that because of May Day 2006, HR 4437 never became law, but 20 years later, the fight is not over. The presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), due to Trump’s anti-immigrant and racist policies, continue to cast a long shadow over American communities by disrupting families and generating widespread fear among both immigrant and American citizen residents.

Abidin closed her speech with the Space Coast Immigrant Rights Alliance’s campaign to end the 287(g) agreements with local police departments in Brevard County, stating, “Ending 287(g) is not just about immigration. It is labor strategy. Our labor is our leverage, and our unity is our power. Every worker, regardless of where they were born, deserves dignity, a living wage and the right to come home safe.”

Vance Ahrens, co-founder of the Space Coast Progress Hub, explained how Palestine and the ongoing genocide are central to understanding International Workers’ Day and must not be forgotten.

Ahrens stated, “The Palestinian people are not separate from the global working-class struggle. The same system that exploits workers here arms occupation there. The same ruling class that tells us there is no money for housing, healthcare or schools sends billions to maintain apartheid, siege and war. The same corporations that profit from low wages also profit from weapons, surveillance, checkpoints, prisons and displacements.”

Ahrens told the crowd labor unions around the world have widely adopted the Palestinian cause and have called for union action to halt investment of trade union pension funds in Israel, refuse to handle arms to Israel, and “elevate the American trade union position to the level of the global labor movement.”

Participants concluded the rally by marching across the bridge on the Melbourne Causeway. They carried signs calling for kicking ICE out of Florida, fighting back against billionaires, and removing Trump from office.

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