Massive crowd gathers in Philadelphia for Sen. Bernie Sanders, May Day rally; dozens arrested, police say
A massive crowd gathered at City Hall in Philadelphia Thursday for a May Day rally and to see Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders speak.
The "For Workers, Not Billionaires" rally on the north side of City Hall drew a large crowd and shut down streets in the area.
Sanders laid into the Trump administration's policies on taxes, immigration, federal cuts and more. He also pointed out the billionaires President Trump has put into cabinet positions and surrounded himself with — including the world's wealthiest man, Elon Musk. Sanders says he came to the event with a call to workers and Pennsylvania lawmakers.
Chopper 3 was over the rally, which spilled into the street.
"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.
Danny Bauder, president of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, talked to CBS News Philadelphia about what workers want.
"No more lawless deportations and sending people without due process, you know, kidnapping them in the middle of the night and sending them to some, you know, unknown prison in El Salvador," Bauder said. "No. 2 is that 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. And then the third thing is that we all need stronger ties between us as working people, and it's a call to arms for people to organize in their workplaces."
After the event, some rally-goers marched around the building and toward the intersection of North Broad and Vine streets.
According to a news release from the Philadelphia AFL-CIO, some protesters "peacefully blocked the busy intersection during rush hour traffic," leading to dozens of arrests.
Philadelphia police said 70 people were arrested for obstructing traffic at that time. Officers issued multiple warnings before arresting protesters, both police and the union said.
They were released one at a time Thursday night. Supporters cheered as they walked out.
"Courage is contagious, and we are going to need a lot more of it in order to be able to push back on the things that are happening," Bauder said Thursday night.
Sanders has been on a nationwide tour looking to counter Mr. Trump during his first 100 days, and the events have caught the president's attention. Mr. Trump on Tuesday rallied in Michigan, defending his policies and taking aim at Democrats and the Vermont senator.
"They have no confidence anymore as a party. They have no candidates," Mr. Trump said. "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."
The rally was organized by local labor unions, immigrant groups and activists.
Sanders will spend the next two days in Pennsylvania with stops in Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley.
Earlier this week Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, defended Mr. Trump at an event in Philly. He said the president's plan to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. will bring work to places like the Navy Yard.
"These are incredible, great-paying jobs," McCormick said. "If we continue to have the success we're having here at the Philly Shipyard, we're gonna go from 1,500 employees across multiple sites here to many thousands more."
