Friday, May 1, in Los Angeles promises to be a May Day like no other.
Traditionally, May Day in Southern California includes exuberant rallies and marches urging expanded rights for the region’s workers or shining the spotlight on challenges encountered by recent immigrants.
But this year, faced with the catastrophic toll of the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrators — on foot, in vehicles or via the Internet — will showcase their own crusades through the lens of the ongoing crisis. Some will even urge an immediate end to stay-at-home orders — despite warnings against that from public health officials.
On Friday, varied groups will:
- Express safety concerns for vulnerable frontline healthcare workers treating patients afflicted by the deadly coronavirus, some with dwindling supplies of personal safety gear;
- Speak out for the hardships faced by the city’s street vendors, feeling economically stranded while their clients are ordered to stay indoors by public officials aiming to save lives by slowing the virus’ spread; or
- Display frustration over those same stay-home orders, which they say deprive them of their constitutional rights to work, shop or recreate as they wish.
At least two of the rallies will focus on frontline workers, but with a pandemic-propelled overlay.
Organizers will seek to turn up the political pressure on elected officials to make sure workers have needed protections amid the pandemic, from protective gear to financial aid.
The Coalition of Human Immigrant Rights, which traditionally hosts a march for workers in Downtown L.A., will host a hybridized pair of events honoring social-distancing restrictions.
CHIRLA will livestream a 10 a.m. news conference, during which they will proclaim support for workers — particularly the nation’s healthcare teams and other essential workers. They’ll also express concern for workers from communities of color, many of whom have been hit particularly hard by the outbreak and its resultant economic jolt.
And at 6 p.m. the group will ask viewers in L.A. to lean out of their windows or step outside to applaud all workers for 2 minutes and 20 seconds, marking the 20th anniversary of some of the landmark L.A.-area marches, organizers said.
“Because of COVID-19, it is important for us to not only applaud these frontline workers who in many cases have no choice but to work, and to keep us safe — like janitors and healthcare workers — we are also standing up for them to say they need their needs met,” said Beatriz Valenzuela, spokeswoman for Equality California, one of dozens of organizations involved in the event.
Street vendors from five L.A. neighborhoods, meanwhile, will caravan in vehicles to Downtown L.A. at noon Friday, and demand a halt to all ticketing and a reimbursement of permit fees.
They’ll also demand cancellation of rents and mortgages, while seeking aid for undocumented immigrants, according to the Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign, a coalition of more than 60 organizations advocating the legalization of street vending.
And, at the same time and not far away, a coalition of protesters will urge an end to the stay-home orders at another Downtown rally.
“Our government was set up specifically to be a protectorate for the people, but when it doesn’t function that way, it seems there must be a communication problems,” said Juliet Annerino, who along with a coalition she said spans the political spectrum, has organized a noon demonstration at L.A. City Hall. “So we will be communicating in the most profound way to our government.”
She said demonstrators will demand that L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Gov. Gavin Newsom:
- Lift the lockdown on non-essential businesses, which the group said is unconstitutional and has caused unemployment to skyrocket and businesses to permanently close;
- End shelter-in-place orders, which the group said have resulted in hunger and mental illness, prompted by isolation;
- Leave the choice of wearing protective attire, such as face masks, up to the individual; and
- Open all state and city parks, beaches, golf courses and other facilities.
Public officials have expressed concern that easing social distancing orders too quickly could undo the progress made at “flattening the curve” of the disease’s spread in recent weeks and spur a surge in new cases that could overwhelm hospital teams.
Organizers of the demonstration say their demands would not prevent people or groups from sheltering at home or practicing social distancing when and if they choose to.
A similar anti-lockdown protest, organized by Wehaverights.com, is scheduled for noon on Main Street in Huntington Beach.
Two weeks ago, more than 100 protesters descended on Huntington Beach to protest against stay-home rules, one of several such demonstrations across the nation.
Organizers say the rallies are meant to be peaceful. But there have been scattered arrests.
An Orange County man was reportedly arrested on suspicion of threatening a KTTV Channel 11 cameraman with a knife hours after the Huntington Beach protest. In San Diego, a woman who police said organized a protest could face a misdemeanor charge of encouraging others to violate stay-at-home orders meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Despite the intensity of the protests, polls have shown a majority of Americans are heeding public health advice to stay at home.
The protests on Friday are being planned amid warnings from public health and elected officials over the consequences of removing physical distancing restrictions too soon.
Return to normal life patterns too soon could result in a large proportion of Angelenos — as many as 96% — getting infected with the virus, according to the latest L.A. County Department of Health Services projections.
Keep the restrictions in place — for now — and only 11% will get infected, health officials said.
Garcetti said reopening businesses and schools can only come once testing is more widespread.
“I do think we need to be somewhere about triple where we are now in testing, in general, to have some confidence in the reopening steps that we have,” he said Tuesday during his daily briefing.
Newsom on Tuesday laid out a four-stage plan to reopen businesses, schools and entertainment events.
And, faced with a $2 billion sales tax hit, L.A. County officials on Tuesday approved a “roadmap to recovery” centered around gathering a task force of business and civic leaders to create a plan to reopen the economy.
Officials have made it clear that political pressure will not sway the easing of restrictions.
“Physical distancing will be our new normal for quite some time,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, L.A. County’s Department of Health Services director.
