Houston union employees, teachers and immigrant advocates are joining the national May Day Strong movement on Friday with a gathering at McGregor Park to educate and organize against policies that they say are harmful to working-class residents.
Amy Zachmeyer, executive director of NEW Houston, is the lead organizer of Friday’s event, which starts at 2 p.m. The Gulf Coast AFL-CIO, Houston Federation of Teachers, Service Employees International Union, Mi Familia en Acción and other groups are also sponsoring the free gathering, which will include speakers, games, food trucks and live music. The organizers say they expect Friday’s event to be the largest activation since the No Kings protests held at Houston City Hall.
The turnout could take a hit if heavy rains hit Houston, but Zachmeyer said the show will go on and can move to a covered pavilion if necessary.
May Day is “kind of a continuation of the ‘workers over billionaires’ that No Kings embraces,” said Tariq Thowfeek, co-founder of the communications group Seeker Strategies, which represents NEW Houston. “The three demands of May Day Strong are stopping the billionaire takeover, protecting families from ICE raids and deportation, and defending public education.”
Zachmeyer said it was important to participate in May Day because Houston is facing a unique set of challenges with the state takeover of HISD, a city budget slated for release next week that some say prioritizes law enforcement over social services and laborers, and concerns about mass immigration detention and deportation. May 1 is International Workers’ Day, and a strong presence from union leaders is expected as the groups continue to advocate for living wages.
“We’re looking at what’s going on in our community,” Zachmeyer said. “For us, one of the big issues we’re facing is the TEA takeover of our schools and that attack on democracy. We work very closely with labor and want to support labor rights in general. Our coalition came up with ‘our labor, our voices, our power’ as our mantra around this. This event is meant to be a moment where we stop and say, we’re workers and we do the work that built this city. We need to stop and recognize that our roles are important.”
About 3,500 May Day events are planned across all 50 states, up from about 1,000 last year. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement that May Day is rooted in the fight for fair wages, safe workplaces and better lives.
“Today, as families face rising costs and economic uncertainty, that fight is as urgent as ever,” Weingarten said. “Too often, decisions that shape our paychecks, our schools and the cost of everyday life are driven by those at the top, instead of the people doing the work. That includes attacks on immigrant workers who are an essential part of our workplaces and communities. That’s why May Day isn’t just about showing up in the streets. Worker power is how we come together. Civic action is how we turn that power into real change.”
The NEW Houston event will feature a brief presentation on the Houston budget and Know Your Rights training, which educates people on legal protocols when they interact with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Vendor booths will be set up to showcase other local resources, Thowfeek said.
“It’s not going to be doom and gloom,” he said. “There’s all this stuff going on in Houston with the HPD-ICE [ordinance] and I just read that one in five immigrants are not showing up in Houston-area schools. There are all these rising costs with state and federal decisions. People are feeling fed up and like they’re not being represented. A lot of this is about collective action and what we can do together.”
Zachmeyer said the Houston organizers aren’t opposed to “no work, no school, no shopping” mandate that’s being pushed by some of the other May Day organizers but they’re focused on “radical joy” and building community.
“Everything’s been hard lately,” she said. “We wanted to be together in community and look for opportunities to get involved and meet one another. A lot of us don’t really know our neighbors.”
She acknowledged that undocumented immigrants don’t often feel safe or comfortable at large public gatherings. While Houston hasn’t seen ICE agents swarming protests, Zachmeyer said what federal immigration authorities do is beyond her control.
“People have to do what they need to do to keep their families safe,” she said. “I can’t say that ICE agents won’t show up but we don’t have a reason to believe that they will. I feel hopeful that we can turn the tides on these things but we have to make sure our communities are safe.”
NEW Houston’s May Day event is scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m. Friday, May 1, at McGregor Park on Calhoun Road. Other Houston-area May Day events include a protest by Indivisible Katy at the Social Security office at 13302 Westheimer. Rallies are planned for 5 p.m. at Alief Community Park on Bellaire Boulevard, Veterans Memorial Park on Tidwell and Mason Park at Plaza Viva on South 75th.
