WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Thousands of Americans on Monday took to streets in major U.S. cities including Washington D.C., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles to join May Day demonstrations for the rights of workers, women and immigrants.
"It is not my first time to join the event. I joined because the workers of America have been giving a very rough deal for really long time. Workers need more rights, shorter work days, better safety, laws for better pay," Treg Waahl told Xinhua , referring to May Day as the International Workers Day.
"You have to keep asking, keep trying." said Waahl, who was among hundreds of people marching in the downtown of Washington D.C. Monday afternoon.
"I am a cabin maker, I never had an employee because I cannot afford to pay the health insurance. I cannot teach anybody what I do. I think that is really wrong." another protester, identified himself as Philips Palmer, said.
Zakiya Scott, one of the organizers, told Xinhua that the May Day demonstration is the culmination of a series of protests starting from early April by a newly formed umbrella organization called the Majority coordinating more than 50 protest groups across some 100 U.S. cities.
Besides the traditional themes, this year's May Day "is also being used as to call attention to Trump's empty job creation promises, pro-corporation, and anti-worker stances," he said in a statement, citing May Day as U.S. President Donald Trump's 101st day in office.
Also on May Day in Oakland, California, at least four demonstrators have been arrested by police after they chained themselves together to block a county building in protest against Trump's tough immigration policies.
In downtown Chicago, organizers estimated an attendance of 20,000 people in the May Day rally. They carried banners and signs calling for immigrant and workers'rights, environmental justice and a higher minimum wage.
In a Los Angeles park, several thousand people chanted "love not hate" in opposition to the new administration.
The White House had no immediate response to the May Day demonstrations.