May Day Protests Planned in Berkshires
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Residents in Berkshire and Bennington County, Vt., are planning to join thousands of others in May Day protests across the nation.
More than 1,000 rallies have registered with the platform Mobilize but more are expected to pop up this weekend.
The Berkshires has seen a number of protests over the past several weeks, including the "Hands Off" rallies of April 5 when hundreds stood in the rain with signs and others traveled to Boston where more than 50,000 people turned out to criticize the administration's actions.
May Day is International Workers Day and is celebrated as a holiday to celebrate the labor movement in many countries.
The "May Day Strong" rallies are to protest what grassroots organizers call the "billionaire agenda" — tax cuts for the rich while cutting funding to Social Security, education and other services. The rallies are also focusing attention on the civil rights of marginalized communities such as immigrants, people of color and the transgender community.
"Now more than ever the labor movement and the voices of working people everywhere need to be united and speaking up against attacks on the rights of workers and those struggling to get out of poverty and find a better future for themselves and their families," said state Sen. Paul Mark in a statement.
"I've been a union member since I was 16 years old, and as union members, my co-workers and I fought for the benefits that gave me a path towards opportunity. I am so grateful to stand in solidarity with our community in the Berkshires and throughout Western Massachusetts to make sure that door to opportunity remains open and strong in our nation."
Mark is the emcee for Williamstown's Saturday rally, hosted by local Indivisible group Greylock Together.
In Pittsfield, there will be a standout on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at the Silvio O. Conte Federal Building on Center Street, where Social Security Administration offices are located. Another march is scheduled for noon on Saturday from the Registry of Motor Vehicles to Park Square with music and speakers including Mark, state Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier, and Dennis Powell, long-time head of the Pittsfield Chapter of the NAACP.
The schedule of regional rallies compiled by Greylock Together:
THURSDAY, MAY 1
- Pittsfield: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Conte Federal Building, 78 Center St.
- Great Barrington: noon to 1 p.m., Great Barrington Town Hall
- Bennington, Vt.: 5 to 6:30 p.m., Four Corners intersection
- Albany, N.Y.: 5 to 7 p.m., Albany Medical Center, 43 New Scotland Ave.
SATURDAY, MAY 3
- Pittsfield: noon to 3:30 p.m., march from RMV to Park Square
- West Stockbridge: 4:30 to 5:30 pm, West Stockbridge Village Congregational Church, 45 Main Street
- Williamstown: noon to 1 p.m., at Field Park at the intersection of Routes 2 and 7 followed by a march to Spring Street. Speakers will also include immigrants' rights advocate Fernando Leon.
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