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Thousands expected in downtown LA for May Day march
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 1: A mostly immigrant crowd participates in a May Day march by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) on May 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Immigrants, union members, workers and supporters are participating in the annual marches in downtown Los Angeles to call for greater rights for immigrants and improved conditions for workers. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
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Members of the 'Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition' display a giant effigy of US Republican Party presidential hopeful Donald Trump during a protest on May Day in Los Angeles, California on May 1, 2016. / AFP / Mark Ralston (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
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A man shows his support for immigration rights protesters during a May Day rally march to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Los Angeles, California on May 1, 2016. / AFP / Mark Ralston (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 1: Black Lives Matter demonstrators express themselves at one of several May Day marches on May 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Immigrants, union members, workers and supporters are participating in the annual marches in downtown Los Angeles to call for greater rights for immigrants and improved conditions for workers. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
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Immigration rights protesters are accompanied by a Chihuahua dog during a May Day rally to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Los Angeles, California on May 1, 2016 / AFP / Mark Ralston (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 1: A demonstrator is seen near a sign that reads, "Stop killer cops!", during one of several May Day marches on May 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Immigrants, union members, workers and supporters are participating in the annual marches in downtown Los Angeles to call for greater rights for immigrants and improved conditions for workers. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MAY 1: People participate in a May Day march by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) on May 1, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Immigrants, union members, workers and supporters are participating in the annual marches in downtown Los Angeles to call for greater rights for immigrants and improved conditions for workers. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
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There was the Women's March, the Tax Day March, the March for Science and the Peoples Climate March. Next up, advocates for immigrant rights and organized labor will hit the streets of Los Angeles for a May Day rally.
Organizers of the Resist Los Angeles march believe the event could draw as many as 100,000 demonstrators to downtown L.A. on Monday, May 1st, also known as International Workers' Day.
Last year's May Day march, held on a Sunday, drew far fewer people — somewhere between 2,000 and 10,000.
The 2017 march will be the first time since 2006 that all the city's May Day marches end at the same spot.
David Huerta, president of SEIU United Service Workers West, which represents janitors, security officers and other workers, tells KPCC, "We have a moment in time that we have to stand up and resist and respond to. We are a nation of immigrants. We are a nation of differences. In those differences, there's power. And right now, we need to come together and form that sense of unity in the resistance to the Trump agenda."
The protest, which was organized by a coalition of labor, immigrant-rights and faith-based groups, will start with a rally at 11 a.m. at MacArthur Park and end at City Hall.
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Several local officials including mayor Eric Garcetti, state senator Kevin De Leon, and L.A. County supervisor Sheila Kuehl, are slated to speak at the event.
The march is expected to tie up traffic in downtown for several hours. Metro is adding trains to accommodate the expected influx of riders and police will be on maximum deployment Monday.
Union members have traditionally marched on May 1 to show their support for workers' rights. KPCC's Leslie Berestein Rojas explains: "In the United States, the annual events have become a rallying point for immigrants and their supporters since massive demonstrations in 2006 against a proposed immigration enforcement bill."
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