Vermonters To Celebrate May Day in Burlington
BURLINGTON, VT – Workers from across Vermont will gather in Burlington’s Battery Park on Wednesday, May 1, at 6 p.m. for a free festival in honor of May Day, with live music, speeches, and food served by the People’s Kitchen. All are welcome.
International Workers’ Day, as it’s also known, commemorates the historic struggle for an eight-hour workday, which, in the spring of 1886, took the form of a general strike that culminated in Chicago’s infamous Haymarket Affair. Many countries recognize May 1 as a national holiday.
Last year, the Champlain Valley Democratic Socialists of America (CVDSA) organized Burlington’s first significant May Day rally in recent memory. They aim to make it an annual tradition. This year, Adam Franz, the new chair of CVDSA’s labor committee, took the lead in planning.
“May Day is about paying tribute to the sacrifices of the working class and continuing the fight,” Franz said. “But most of all, it’s a celebration of worker power and the victories of the global labor movement. We want workers and their families to come out and have a good time.”
The Vermont AFL-CIO, a labor federation representing 20,000 members of affiliated unions, is a cosponsor of the event.
“This May Day comes at a pivotal moment for labor. Mighty industrial unions are rising again, winning historic strikes, like the UAW, and are starting to organize for a mass strike on May Day 2028. That work starts now, and it starts with building relationships across unions, which is what this event is all about,” VT AFL-CIO Executive Director Liz Medina said.
A long list of unions in the area have also endorsed the May Day festival. These include Teamsters Local 597, AFSCME Local 4802, the Burlington Education Association (BEA), UVM Staff United, UVMMC Support Staff United, UVM Graduate Students United, UE Local 208, the Vermont IWW, and the Howard Center Union.
High school teacher Michelle Sagalchik, an officer in the BEA, plans to attend May Day in Burlington for the second consecutive year.
“It’s so important for different unions to be able to come together in one place and experience the joy of broad worker solidarity,” Sagalchik said. “May Day reminds us that we’re all on the same side, in the same fight, and that we’re going to win it.”
About the Champlain Valley Democratic Socialists of America: DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States, and CVDSA is the chapter representing Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties in Vermont. For more information, visit champlainvalleydsa.org.
