May Day demonstrators champion workers’ rights, protest Trump policies

May Day, also called International Workers’ Day, was marked by a Soldotna protest that drew around 150 people, championing the working class, workers’ rights and unions on Thursday.

Many people marching up the Sterling Highway carried signs that read “union proud,” “support federal workers,” or “union-supporting patriot.” Others had a variety of other issues on their minds, like due process, federal funding, free speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

Sue Smalley, a Soldotna organizer, said local protests held in Soldotna over the last few months — mostly helmed by local group Many Voices in concert with the national 50501 movement — are about driving empathy and creating a safe place for people to speak out about the issues on their minds. Rather than protesters, she said, they want to be protectors for programs, rights and people who are at risk.

“This can be positive,” she said.

Other protests drew hundreds around the state, in Homer, Seldovia, Kodiak, Girdwood, Sitka, Fairbanks, Juneau and Anchorage, among others.

On Thursday, Smalley said she saw people sharing their thoughts about the current state of the country, some for the first time in their lives. Others still don’t feel safe sharing their thoughts, she said, and were home writing letters and sending emails.

The protest was given additional significance, one man said, because it came the same day a federal judge — one appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump — barred the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans it claims are criminals without affording them the opportunity to challenge their removal.

That’s why, the man said, he was out on the street Thursday evening. He said he was championing the Fifth and 14th amendments of the United States Constitution, both of which protect peoples right to “due process of law.” It’s that protection that makes the country what it is, he said.

“We’re America, goddammit, we’re special,” he said. “We’ve got to live up to that.”

As part of the May Day protest, Many Voices collected donations for the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank. They said Friday they had delivered 425 pounds of food and $375 to the food bank.

For more information, find “Many Voices” on Facebook. They post their events to the community calendar managed by KDLL 91.9 FM Public Radio.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.