STORY: Hundreds of people gathered in San Francisco on Friday (May 1) to participate in May Day demonstrations, demanding workers rights over billionaires and calling for an end to ICE operations.

People who joined the demonstrations marched from across the Bay Area marched from the Civic Center Plaza to the Embarcadero Plaza.

"Marching is important. That's how people see that they're not alone ... It's important for us to come together and show the world," said an organiser who added that workers should stand together and defend each other.

May Day events also took place in other cities in the United States including Seattle and Washington D.C..

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MAY 1, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. PROTESTERS MARCHING

2. PROTESTERS CHANTING AT CIVIC CENTER PLAZA

3. TWO PROTESTERS HOLING BANNER, READING (English): "Fund Community Not War"

4. PROTESTERS AT CIVIC CENTER PLAZA LISTENING TO SPEAKER

5. (SOUNDBITE)(English) JODIE SHEFFELS, 29, MEMBER OF THE UNITED EDUCATORS OF SAN FRANCISCO, SAYING:

“We're not going to just lay back and let what's happening right now with our government keep happening. You know, we're out here saying no to ICE, no to endless war, no to spending billions of dollars bombing children overseas, while right here in the United States we still can't fully fund our own public schools.”

6. PROTESTERS MARCHING

7. VARIOUS OF SHEFFELS LEADING PROTESTERS IN CHANT

8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) XOCHITL FLORES, 41, ORGANISER WITH PODER SF GROUP, SAYING:

“Yeah, May Day is a day for workers. It again, it's building off the legacy of organising for eight-hour workday better working conditions. And really, how do we move that forward? There's a lot of talk today about, you know, taxing the billionaires, getting rid of billionaires, really just acknowledging that it's the working class that really makes the world move, and we should be really taking care of them because it's international solidarity. It's not just workers here in San Francisco, but it's workers all over the world.”

9. MEMBERS OF PODER SF GROUP MARCHING

10. PROTESTERS MARCHING AND CHANTING

11. MAN HOLDING SIGN WHILE WATCHING MARCHERS

12. (SOUNDBITE)(English) ROBERT MOORE, 58, AMAZON EMPLOYEE, SAYING:

“Okay, at my workplace, Amazon, we're fighting for a contract right now. We have all the union sign, union cards signed. And we have we've taken them to court to fight for that. And they just keep refusing to honour our union and basically keep union busting at work every day.”

13. WOMAN HOLDING SIGN SPEAKING TO ANOTHER DEMONSTRATOR

14. MAN JUGGLING IN THE STREET

15. MAN HOLDING UP MOBILE DEVICE AS PROTESTERS MARCH

16. (SOUNDBITE)(English) JANE MARTIN, 46, ORGANISER WITH BAY RESISTANCE, SAYING:

"Well, marching is important. That's how people see that they're not alone. And there's been a lot of fear in the community. It's important for us to come together and show the world that we're going to stand with each other, we're going to defend each other. We're not going to give up. In fact, we've won many things along the way, right? Like you're standing in a sanctuary city in San Francisco. We know that here in California, we believe in supporting all our communities. And so there's a lot of protections we've won by coming together, by marching, by fighting. And we're going to keep fighting until we really get the true justice that we deserve."

17. PROTESTERS PLAYING MUSIC AND DANCING

18. VARIOUS OF PROTESTER PLAYING DRUM