Indianapolis, IN – Around 100 workers, union members and community allies gathered Friday evening, May 1, at Monument Circle to mark International Workers’ Day with an energetic May Day rally centered on solidarity and a renewed pro-labor program for Central Indiana.
Organized by the Central Indiana AFL-CIO and Teamsters Local 135, the rally brought together a cross-section of the local labor movement. Speakers from Teamsters Local 135, the Indiana AFL-CIO, UAW Region 2B, IUOE Local 399, BCTGM Local 372A, AFSCME Local 3395, and SAG-AFTRA addressed the assembly of workers from the podium. Community allies, including Indivisible Central Indiana and students from across the state, also attended.
May Day, rooted in the 19th-century struggle of U.S. workers for the eight-hour workday, set the tone for the evening as speakers emphasized the continued relevance of that fight amid rising costs of living, anti-union policies, and employer resistance to organizing.
Dustin Roach, president of Teamsters Local 135, opened the May Day rally with a fiery call for renewed worker militancy, stating, “International Workers’ Day was a day built on sacrifice, struggle and worker power,” said Roach. “In 1886, workers in this country fought, they bled, and they died for an eight-hour workday. Did they get that by asking nicely? Hell no! They stood together and they took that shit. Here we are over 100 years later, and we’re still dealing with the same bullshit today. Different year, same fight. Working people versus corporate greed.”
Roach asked the crowd, “Who built this city?” They responded in unison, “We built this city!”
Dakota Massman, a Teamster table games dealer at Horseshoe Indianapolis casino, delivered a powerful speech recounting the workers’ 52-day strike for union recognition last year and their ongoing fight with Caesars Entertainment.
Massman told the crowd, “Every workplace has the right, every worker the ability, to carry the torch of the working class and become union,” Massman said. “Don’t be afraid. I promise you from experience, if you have a little faith and the backing of a strong union, things will turn out better. Solidarity will always win, so let’s get to work building a stronger labor movement.”
Tavish Bryan of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Purdue University spoke about an ongoing campaign demanding transparency from the administration over what organizers say is a de facto ban on international graduate students, particularly from countries such as China and Iran. Bryan emphasized that while the full scope of the policy remains unclear due to a lack of transparency, its effects are already being felt by graduate and research assistants, many of whom are international workers who perform a large share of the university’s academic labor. The campaign also calls for protections for international students and pushes back against broader anti-immigrant policies, linking these attacks to declining conditions, wages and rights for graduate workers more broadly.
“This isn’t just about Purdue,” said Bryan. “This is about a system that divides workers to weaken them. But we know the truth: An injury to one is an injury to all. If international workers are under attack, all workers are under attack. That’s why SDS at Purdue stands with graduate workers – teaching assistants, research assistants, all of them – in the fight for living wages, the right to organize without fear, and dignity on the job, no matter where you’re from.”
Throughout the rally, chants echoed across Monument Circle: “An injury to one is an injury to all!” and “We ain’t no one’s working slaves, we deserve a living wage!” and “They say give back, we say fight back!”
Union members carried signs reading “Organize!” “Fight back!” and “Stop the war on workers,” while two large banners framed the gathering: “Labor built this city,” and another displaying the rally’s six-point Pro-Labor Agenda. Some attendees carried signs that read, “Fight for workers and immigrant rights!”
The Pro-Labor Agenda, highlighted repeatedly by speakers, called for a living wage for all workers, healthcare for all, retirement with dignity, protection of the right to strike and honor picket lines, repeal of “right-to-work-for-less” laws, and resistance to attacks on voting rights.
Near the end of the event, rally organizers called for a moment of silence in observance of Workers Memorial Day, which was on April 28 and recognizes workers who have lost their lives on the job. They also held a moment of silence for Alex Pretti, a VA hospital nurse and AFGE member, who was murdered by ICE in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Despite chilly weather, the crowd remained energized throughout the event. The rally concluded with participants joining together to sing Solidarity Forever.
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