Thousands gather in Philadelphia as part of annual nationwide May Day rally: "We deserve better"
Road closures and parking restrictions were in effect around Philadelphia City Hall Friday as thousands gathered to mark International Workers' Day.
The event drew a diverse crowd, including nurses, college students, hotel workers and immigrants. Demonstrators marched with signs and banners after gathering for speeches. They called on lawmakers to raise the minimum wage, increase taxes on the wealthy and expand access to healthcare.
The demonstration was part of a nationwide wave of May Day rallies, with organizers focusing on workers' rights and economic inequality.
While May Day rallies are held every year, many participants said this year's event carried a stronger political message, with criticism aimed at President Donald Trump's policies.
Earlier in the day, protesters lined all four corners of Lancaster and Ardmore avenues in Ardmore, Montgomery County, holding signs and waving flags as they called for higher wages and policy changes.
"We're here because people will not accept less," Lauren Steinmeyer, an organizer with Indivisible Lower Merion, said. "Everybody's being asked to accept less and less while billionaires keep taking more."
Speakers and attendees also voiced concerns about the war in Iran and rising gas prices.
"Jumping into this war was totally ill-advised with no forethought and no exit plan," Ronnie Flitter from Media said.
After about 90 minutes of speeches outside City Hall, demonstrators marched through Center City, led by some of the city's largest labor unions.
"The minimum wage in PA is still $7.25, so that's why it's important for us to come out here and represent," said Michele Jackson-Reid of Unite Here Local 54. "We deserve better."
Drivers passing through the busy intersection honked in support of the protesters.
"I've never heard so many horns like today," Penn Valley resident Sandor Flitter said. "I think it's a really good sign and it gives me hope."
For many demonstrators, the focus was economic inequality and the concentration of wealth and power.
"There's so many things that are undermining our entire way of life, our economy, the humanity of our society," said Mary, a South Jersey resident who attended the rally.
"This country is a circus and you need to have a billion dollars in order to enter and run it," said Crystal, who is from New Jersey. "I feel like they shouldn't even exist and be controlling our country, especially when there's people who don't have food, don't have housing."
Others said they attended to protest federal immigration enforcement and detention policies.
"I can't believe that we have concentration camps in the United States in 2026," said Walter Francis Elling of Philadelphia. "I can't believe we're paying for this. That is so wrong."
From longtime union members to first-time protesters, participants said the message of the day was clear.
"You should pay attention very closely because the workers have been ignored for a very long time," said Shawn Moss of the Democratic Socialists of America's Philadelphia chapter. "Workers are now coming together to organize to fight back against all of this."