The crowd gathered at City Hall in Philadelphia for a May Day rally.
On Thursday in Philadelphia, a crowd gathered at City Hall for a May Day rally that included Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as a speaker.
The rally, called “For Workers, Not Billionaires”, had a crowd in attendance that required several streets in the area to be shut down. The event was organized by labor unions, immigrant groups, and activists.
Danny Bauder, president of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, spoke in a recent interview about what workers want to see as a result of the rally.
“The cuts that are being made or talked about being made to the federal government, both to Social Security and Medicare and also to the actual, you know, the people of the federal government, the people who work there and provide services that we all rely on, absolutely not. We don’t want any of that,” Bauder said.
According to a news release, some protestors “peacefully blocked the busy intersection during rush hour traffic,” leading to arrests.
Philadelphia police said they made over 70 arrests for obstructing traffic. Officers issued multiple warnings before arresting protestors, according to police and the union.
Senator Sanders spoke on the Trump administration’s policies on immigration and taxes, as well as cuts being made at the federal level.
He spoke about billionaires joining the Trump administration, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk who spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency to curb government spending.
“I’m here in Pennsylvania to tell any member of the Pennsylvania delegation that if they vote for tax breaks for billionaires and cut Medicaid, nutrition and education, we are gonna throw them out of their jobs,” Sanders said at the rally.
Sanders has been on a nationwide tour speaking out against President Trump, who took notice of the events.
At Trump’s rally in Michigan for his first 100 days this term, he said, “They have no confidence anymore as a party. They have no candidates. And you know, when they say that Bernie – Bernie’s probably the best they have – by the way, he’s about seven years older than me, more, eight years older.”
Sanders will continue his tour with stops in Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.
