Thousands attend May Day rallies in central North Carolina
From worker rights rallies to marches for social justice, activists around the globe kicked off May Day demonstrations on Thursday.
In some countries, it's a public holiday honoring labor, but activists planning marches in the United States say much of their message is about fighting back against President Donald Trump's policies targeting immigrants, federal workers, and diversity programs.
In some parts of the U.S., though, fear of being detained by the Trump administration is expected to keep some immigrants home.
Previous rallies to protest the Trump Administration and Elon Musk, like the Hands Off and 50501 have had massive turnouts across the Triangle and beyond.
Thousands of people made their way to rallies at Halifax Mall and Bicentennial Plaza in Raleigh on Thursday.
Many people aired their frustration with the Trump Administration, from immigrant rights to rollbacks of federal funding, which have led to layoffs in both the public and private sectors.
"I'm out here to celebrate International Workers' Day," said Ieisha Franceis from Durham.
Franceis is part of the Union of Southern Service Workers, fighting for better conditions, including fair pay, greater benefits, including paid sick leave, and the right to organize.
"This is a celebratory day for all of us immigrants and American workers," said Aura Acosta, through a translator, who attended the rally at Halifax Mall.
It was one of several topics that drew attention throughout the day-long rallies, which extended from CCB Plaza in Durham to Halifax Mall in Raleigh.
"The policies of this administration are hurting Americans almost as much as they're hurting immigrants. That's a sad reality. I've actually been surprised to see all the supportive signs," said Acosta, through a translator, when asked about the Trump administration's work addressing immigration and deportations.
"The weightiness of just things not being OK. Like not feeling like things are OK or going to be OK, and that things are just getting worse and that there's so many people left behind or will be left behind with uncertainty, unknowns, or worse," said Sally Swanson, who attended the Durham rally.
Signs, chants, and shirts covered a range of issues, from support for Ukraine to broader economic concerns.
"I think we need to concentrate more on the little people, the people that need it the most. And, of course, I need my Social Security," said Theonie Schaffer of Raleigh.
"This new government wants to run our country as if we're commodities that can be bought and sold, and we're not. We're human beings," said Franceis.
A broad coalition of individuals and groups came together for the rallies, which were anchored by the Union of Southern Service Workers and Siembra NC.
Around 5:00 p.m., a group marched from Halifax Mall to Bicentennial Plaza for a rally set up with the North Carolina Legislature in the background.
Organizers estimated about 3,000 people attended the Raleigh rallies, including the march.
Tariffs and DOGE both drew attention from attendees as well. While economists predict tariffs will cause higher prices, President Trump believes its part of an economic strategy which will ultimately benefit the United States.
"We've seen over $5 trillion in either overseas or private investments that have been pledged to the United States. Between DOGE, between those private investments, you're going to continue to see the American comeback," said NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons.
According to the DOGE website, the office claims to have saved $160 billion thus far, though all receipts have not been posted at this time to verify that figure.
Republican State House Representative Mike Schietzelt says it's important for legislators to ensure taxpayer money is being utilized appropriately.
"We have to get back to doing the core mission. And sometimes that requires cutting out things that lie on the periphery of what the government is supposed to be doing. And that can certainly be painful. I understand that. But we have to keep in mind with $36 trillion in debt, that's a number that's hard to fathom, we have to make sure we're taking care of the core things," said Schietzelt, a Republican who represents Wake County.
For his part, Elon Musk, who is overseeing DOGE, believes strides have been made, but there's more work to do.
"I think we've been effective, not as effective as I'd like, I think we could be more effective, but we made progress," said Musk, who has set a revised goal of $1 trillion in federal spending cuts.
"We're $36 trillion in debt. At some point, that bill comes due, and we're no longer working on spending my tax dollars. We're probably spending my children's tax dollars and their children's tax dollars. And so at times like that, it's important to make sure that our government gets back to doing its core functions," said Schietzelt.
Nida Allam, a Democrat who chairs the Durham County Board of Commissioners, feels Republicans have been inconsistent, pointing to plans to cut taxes for the highest earners and corporations.
"If there's so much waste, and there's not enough money, then why are we giving tax cuts to billionaires? Why are we here in the state of North Carolina, where our schools are crumbling, and our state is not paying our teachers living wages, that they have cut our corporate tax rates to 0%? It doesn't make sense. You can't say we don't have money on one side and then be giving away money to oligarchs, to billionaires for nothing," said Allam.
There have been a number of efforts at the state level aimed at improving efficiency.
Last month, the Senate passed SB 474, titled The DAVE Act, with one Democrat joining all Republicans who voted in support of the measure. The measure would create "The Division of Accountability, Value, and Efficiency (DAVE) Act" within the Auditor's Office, requiring each state agency to report on its use of public funding, the status of vacant positions, and continuing to assess needs.
In January, the House set up a Select Committee on Government Efficiency.
As part of his budget proposal, Governor Josh Stein has called for the establishment of an IMPACT Center to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state programs.
"We know that we have some revenue problems. We know that we're not collecting enough in the gas tax anymore to continue to fund the infrastructure projects that we have out there. We also have all of this damage that's out there in Western North Carolina that we have to take care of," said Schietzelt. "We have people who are still waiting on their home to be rebuilt in eastern North Carolina from Hurricane Matthew. And so we have a lot of new needs out there. And there are more requests than there is revenue. And so we've got to find ways, one, I think, to be a little bit creative in terms of revenue, where we're not collecting things like income tax, but we're collecting things like the gas tax to fund infrastructure. We've got to start getting creative about how we fund these rather than leaning on these outdated and fading models. The other thing, though, that we have to do is, again, get back to core mission."
Thursday's rally was just the latest large-scale protest that has drawn large crowds, expressing frustration with the Trump administration.
"May Day is not just a moment. It's a movement," said Franceis.
What is May Day?
The roots of May Day, or International Workers Day, stretch back over a century to a turbulent and pivotal time in U.S. labor history.
In the 1880s, unions pushing for better workplace conditions began advocating for an eight-hour workday with widespread demonstrations and strikes. In May 1886, a Chicago labor rally turned deadly when a bomb was thrown and police retaliated with gunfire. Several labor activists, most of them immigrants, were convicted of conspiracy to incite violence among other charges. Four were hanged.
Unions later recommended that the workers be honored every May 1. A sculpture in Chicago's Haymarket Square commemorates them with an inscription that reads: "Dedicated to all workers of the world."
The Associated Press contributed to this story
