Workers of the City Unite

May 2, 2026

International Workers’ Day was observed around the World yesterday. Here in NYC the holiday was marked by demonstrations of solidarity and strength by organized labor unions. A lunchtime rally on the sidewalk outside of City Hall on Broadway drew attention to the struggle to end 24 hour work shifts for Home Care Workers. Following a week-long Hunger Strike in April, Council Speaker Julie Menim committed to putting the No More 24 Act (Intro 303) to a vote by May 14th, according to organizers. Rally participants also called for Universal Healthcare and No Displacement of Communities (no casinos, no jails, and more low-income housing).

Christopher Marte, Councilmember for District 1, spoke to the crowd and said “Today we gather here to remind everyone that history will not be rewritten by those evil players who say “New York City is a workers’ town, NYC is a labor town” but do not stand with these workers. Call my Council Member colleagues, and tell them to look these workers in the eye, and to pass the No More 24 Act.”

Marte; Kim.

Ron Kim, Assemblymember from District 40, said “It is easy and cowardly to pass the buck, but the buck must stop with the Mayor and the Governor. It’s easy to say, ‘it’s the state, it’s the insurance, it’s too complicated, I’ve got friends in nonprofits…’ that’s all bullshit. These workers are dying every day. It’s very simple. Too many people are making money off of your lives. Even though we can save billions of dollars for the State of New York, they do not want to end it because those billions of dollars are profits from their pockets that they want to keep.” Kim said choosing to stand with the Home Care Workers is a revolutionary act and urged people to challenge the status quo. “Call your Council Member and tell them to pass the No More 24 Act.“

Activists rallied outside City Hall in support of the No More 24 Act.

A little farther Uptown, in Greenwich Village, Labor Union Leaders and Members poured into Washington Square Park by the hundreds. From a stage set up beneath the Arch, speakers recounted the History of Organized Labor in America and urged today’s Workers to uphold and expand on that tradition. The New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO; New York Immigration Coalition; Union & community members from across the City organized the mobilization. Homemade protest signs referenced the Trump Administration, the War in Iran, and ICE. Speakers expressed solidarity and gratitude for immigrants and the work they do that keeps the City running. Criticism of an economic system in which almost all the gains go to a tiny segment of the population, aka the Billionaires, and of a political system that favors their needs over those of the Workers was a major theme of the day, as was health care and specifically, the high cost/lack of access to it.

Thousands of Organized Labor Union Workers filled Washington Square Park on May Day.

Locals 600 and 52 IATSE, Unite Here!, Local 78 Laborers, HTC, 32BJ SEIU, PSC, DC37, CWA Local 9009 (Alphabet), and Local 338 were among the Labor Unions represented in the Park. Mayor Mamdani addressed the May Day crowd saying that workers won Rights taken for granted today including the 40 hour work week, weekends, overtime pay, minimum wage, Social Security, and workplace safety. He said workers have to protect those Rights and to advance the Labor agenda. Former NYC Comptroller and current Congressional Candidate Brad Lander told the Gazette, “We have to fight back against the Billionaires.”