ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Under a gray May sky, hundreds gathered at Austin Steward Plaza on Thursday, clutching signs and chanting slogans, their voices echoing off the Genesee River. The Rochester-Genesee Valley Area Labor Foundation had called them here for a May Day rally, a gritty show of defiance against President Donald Trump’s labor policies and broader agenda. By 5 p.m., the crowd—union workers, immigrants, students, and activists—swelled, spilling onto the Sister Cities Bridge before marching to Parcel 5 downtown. It was loud, it was raw, and it was unmistakably Rochester.
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, has deep roots, stretching back to the 1886 Haymarket Affair in Chicago when workers striking for an eight-hour workday clashed with police, leaving blood on the streets. In 2025, that old fight felt alive again. Demonstrators in Rochester, like thousands across the U.S., weren’t just honoring labor history—they were sounding alarms over Trump’s moves to slash federal jobs, weaken unions, and crack down on immigrants. Signs bobbed above the crowd: “Immigrant Rights Are Human Rights” and “Stop the Billionaire Takeover.” One banner, scrawled in red marker, read simply, “Trump’s Tariffs Tank Workers.”
The rally kicked off with speeches at the plaza. Organizers, flanked by union flags, decried Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, which has axed federal jobs and sparked layoffs in both public and private sectors. They pointed to Trump’s immigration policies, too—mass deportations and workplace raids that have left some Rochester immigrants too scared to show up for work. A speaker, her voice cracking through a megaphone, told of a local truck driver detained by federal agents, his family left scrambling. The crowd roared back, fists raised.
As the march snaked through downtown, drummers kept the rhythm, their beats mingling with chants of “We are the engine of this country!” Rain threatened but never came, and the energy didn’t waver. At Parcel 5, the rally wrapped with more speeches, including one from a teacher who slammed Trump’s push to cut education funding. She didn’t name names, but the crowd knew the stakes—proposed Medicaid cuts, stalled just days ago, loomed large.
Nationwide, May Day 2025 saw over 70,000 protesters in nearly 1,000 cities, from Chicago’s Union Park to Los Angeles’ packed streets. Rochester’s turnout, though smaller, carried the same fire. The 50501 movement, a nod to 50 protests in 50 states, helped organize the event, tying local gripes to a national outcry. In Philly, Bernie Sanders led a rally; in New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fired up marchers. Rochester’s event, backed by over 250 local groups, stood out for its focus on community—neighbors shouting for neighbors.
The march stayed peaceful, no arrests reported. Police kept their distance, watching from squad cars as the crowd dispersed at dusk. Organizers vowed to keep the pressure on, with some hinting at boycotts and walkouts through Cinco de Mayo. For now, though, Rochester’s workers had made their point, their voices carrying down the Genesee.
The rally began at 5 p.m. on May 1, 2025, at Austin Steward Plaza. It concluded at Parcel 5 after a march across downtown Rochester.