More than 100 people gathered for a rally and march in Aurora on Friday in honor of May Day and to express their support of workers and immigrant communities.
Late Friday morning, individuals gathered at Wilder Park in Aurora held signs with phrases like “Support workers not war” and “Immigrant workers deserve rights not raids,” as American flags held by attendees whipped in the wind.
May 1 is a national day of action for workers to mobilize and gather to advocate for workers’ rights. In the past, rallies and events have been held in Chicago and beyond to commemorate the day.
This year, a “no work, no school and no shopping” action was encouraged by activists as a protest to the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration while advocating for immigrant and labor rights.
Friday’s event in Aurora was organized as a way to recognize the contributions of immigrant communities and “call for dignity, due process and the protection of workers’ rights,” according to a news release from the rally’s organizers.
The event was hosted by a coalition of community, labor and advocacy organizations, the news release about the rally said, with participating groups including Aurora Mutual Aid, Aurora Rapid Response Team, Alliance of Latinos Motivating Action in the Suburbs, Aurora Township Democrats, Indivisible Fox Valley Rising, Illinois Workers in Action and We Can Lead Change Fox Valley.
Following the rally at Wilder Park, participants marched into downtown Aurora.
During the rally, community leaders and local officials spoke about the history of May Day and the challenges workers and immigrant families are currently facing.
Aurora Deputy Mayor Casildo “Casey” Cuevas spoke about the tradition of May Day as one in which “ordinary people stand up and say, ‘Our labor has value, our lives have dignity and our rights are not negotiable.’”
Calling himself a “proud immigrant,” Cuevas also talked about the need for immigrant workers to be protected.
“We are demanding an America that recognizes that immigrants are not outsiders,” he said. “We are essential. We are part of the fabric of this nation.”
He also spoke about the tradition of the United States — how the founders of the country “did not create a perfect document,” he said, but that that framework is meant to evolve.
“Every generation has to push this country closer to its ideals,” he said. “And today, it’s our turn.”
Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who attended the Aurora event, also drew on history as inspiration for Friday’s rally.
Bruno pointed to the strikes and demonstrations of the 1880s, during which unions pushed for an eight-hour work day. In May 1886, a Chicago rally turned deadly when a bomb exploded and police responded with gunfire. Several labor activists — most of them immigrants — were convicted of conspiracy and other charges, and four were executed.
That history provides the basis for the May 1 holiday still recognized today.
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“We do this to resist authoritarian government practices and corporate oligarchy designed to harm labor and dismantle democracy,” Bruno said of the May Day actions.
State Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, who also attended the protest in Aurora, spoke about wealth inequality, referencing the state’s recent failure to pass the so-called millionaire’s tax resolution, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have asked voters in November to impose an additional tax on residents who earn more than $1 million a year. According to Villa, the state has the ability to “still find ways to tax the rich in Illinois.”
And, for Elgin Community College professor Vincent Gaddis, efforts in support of worker and immigrant rights require solidarity among diverse groups.
“If you’re here today and you’re white (and) a worker, do you have more in common with your Black and brown fellow worker, or a white billionaire?,” Gaddis asked at the rally. “We have to stop playing into their culture war.”
As for what’s being done already, some speakers pointed to efforts underway in Aurora in support of workers and immigrants.
Aurora Mayor John Laesch, crediting Villa and local rapid response groups, pointed to recent efforts to come together in response to what’s been going on at the national level.
And Aurora native Juan Garcia spoke of a new organization he founded recently alongside others from Aurora, called Kalpulli Across Borders, which works to provide “direct financial assistance to families facing deportation.”
Part of these efforts also include continued organizing.
“The only way we’re going to move forward … is to be well-organized,” Nicholas Richard-Thompson, who serves as Aurora’s deputy chief of staff and who is part of the Black Alliance for Peace, said at Friday’s rally. “It takes a lot of sacrifice.”
Thompson expressed enthusiasm about current efforts, but urged the crowd gathered Friday to keep forging ahead.
“This can’t just be a moment,” Thompson said. “It has to be a movement.”
Patty Gawrys, 65, of St. Charles, said she almost didn’t go to Friday’s protest because she had a busy afternoon.
“But I thought, ‘We have to show up,’” she said. “I feel very proud of people standing up, speaking up.”
The retired nurse, who said she “know(s) what it’s like to work hard,” pointed out that even the ability to protest is not an opportunity shared by everyone equally.
“A lot of people have to go to work,” she said. “Not everybody can just stop work and keep their jobs. So, those of us that can do that … I’m going to be out here speaking for them.”
The Associated Press contributed.