{"id":109277,"date":"2026-05-03T13:55:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/03\/arrests-at-sfo-as-may-day-protests-kick-into-gear-across-the-bay-area\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T13:55:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T13:55:11","slug":"arrests-at-sfo-as-may-day-protests-kick-into-gear-across-the-bay-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/03\/arrests-at-sfo-as-may-day-protests-kick-into-gear-across-the-bay-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrests at SFO as May Day Protests Kick Into Gear Across the Bay Area"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The rally at SFO, which demanded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers out of the city, was led by the airport\u2019s passenger service workers, who are preparing for a Board of Supervisors hearing next week over low wages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey move bags, they assist the elderly, disabled passengers, they clean airport cabins \u2026 and I was there to stand with them in solidarity as they push for a new contract,\u201d Becker said. \u201cBut also I think it\u2019s part of a larger moment today on International Workers\u2019 Day to say that one job should be enough here in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, for many workers, that\u2019s not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is arrested as he stands with other demonstrators blocking the road in front of San Francisco International terminal during the ICE Out of San Francisco protest at SFO on May Day at San Francisco International Airport on Friday, May 1, 2026, in San Francisco. (Lea Suzuki\/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SFO was also the site of a high-profile altercation with ICE<\/a> last month in which officers forcefully detained a woman and her young child.<\/p>\n

The demonstrators who were detained and being processed Friday afternoon appear to have been among a group blocking the street outside the airport\u2019s International Terminal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good day for the movement,\u201d Sanjay Garla, first vice president at SEIU United Service Workers West, said as he was escorted through the terminal by police. \u201cICE out of SFO!\u201d<\/p>\n

San Francisco Civic Center<\/h2>\n

At 2 p.m., Mission Action, a group that advocates for the city\u2019s immigrant and low-income residents, held a rally at Civic Center, which was followed by a march to Embarcadero Plaza.<\/p>\n

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Justice Robinson, a student at KIPP San Francisco College Preparatory, marches during a May Day protest near Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on May 1, 2026. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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San Francisco and Oakland school of the arts students cheer as they listen to speakers during a May Day rally at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on May 1, 2026. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re walking out of our schools because we need to show up and be there for the people \u2014 because we are the people,\u201d said Max Navarro Serrano, a high school student at Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. \u201cWe have the power, not the f\u2014 billionaires.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the May Day Coalition\u2019s demands are that leaders support a ballot measure that would impose a one-time, 5% tax on the assets of California\u2019s roughly 200 billionaires, which qualified for the November ballot<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

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Demonstrators march during a May Day protest at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on May 1, 2026. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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San Francisco high school students cheer as they listen to speakers during a May Day rally at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco on May 1, 2026. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

San Jos\u00e9<\/h2>\n

In East San Jos\u00e9, local and state labor groups joined hundreds of progressive activists at a rally at Story and King roads.<\/p>\n

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Several hundred people held signs and chanted slogans in support of workers, against ICE, and against wars during a large May Day rally and march in East San Jos\u00e9. (Joseph Geha\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Billionaire and candidate for California governor Tom Steyer speaks with Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, and Doug Moore, executive director of the United Domestic Workers of America, during a May Day rally in East San Jos\u00e9. (Joseph Geha\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the crowd was Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, who directly called out Big Tech for trying to \u201cbuy elections\u201d in San Jos\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the epicenter of what we\u2019re fighting here, when we say \u2018Workers over billionaires.\u2019 We\u2019re going to fight back and we\u2019re going to do it right here on their turf,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Fareed F. holds up an American flag during a May Day rally in East San Jos\u00e9. (Joseph Geha\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Several hundred gathered to support workers, immigrants and anti-war policies near Story and King roads in East San Jos\u00e9 on May 1, 2026. (Joseph Geha\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oakland<\/h2>\n

Hundreds rallied and marched from Fruitvale Plaza through the East Oakland neighborhood to show solidarity with immigrant workers. Oakland resident Andrea Byers held a sign that said: \u201cI support my immigrant neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI support my immigrant neighbors because my immigrant neighbors support me, and support this economy,\u201d Byers said. \u201cIt\u2019s what our economy has always been based on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Maria Alejo dances with the Teokali dance group at a rally proceeding the Oakland Sin Fronteras May Day march in Oakland on May 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Harriet Shange \u2013 Watkins (left), and Savannah Shange (center) cheer for the speakers at a rally proceeding the Oakland Sin Fronteras May Day march in Oakland on May 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Melissa Guzman Garcia, an associate Ethnic Studies professor at San Francisco State University, said she came to Oakland alongside some students and colleagues to remind herself that \u201cthere are so many things to fight for in this country, even when it feels like so many things are going wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to see so many people, so many different generations showing up to Fruitvale, Oakland, and coming here to celebrate together,\u201d Guzman Garcia said.<\/p>\n

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Oree Originol carries a sign demanding justice for Renee Good at the Oakland Sin Fronteras May Day march in Oakland on May 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Maria C. with Mujeres Unidas en Acci\u00f3n and others chant while marching in the Oakland Sin Fronteras May Day march in Oakland on May 1, 2026. (Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May Day, or International Workers\u2019 Day, is a public holiday honoring labor in many countries.<\/p>\n

In the Bay Area, the first May Day was celebrated in 1890 in Emeryville\u2019s Shellmound Park, organized by carpenters and joiners unions, according to activist historians Left in the Bay<\/a>. The labor celebrations overlapped with the festival celebrating the change of the seasons, commemorated throughout the northern hemisphere.<\/p>\n

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An onlooker cheers from a window as protesters march at the Oakland Sin Fronteras May Day march in Oakland on May 1, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That May Day used to be a public holiday<\/a> in San Francisco for schoolchildren, who danced around May Poles<\/a> and were given free milk and cookies in city parks.<\/p>\n

KQED\u2019s <\/em>Mar\u00eda Fernanda Bernal<\/em><\/a>,<\/em>Farida Jhabvala Romero<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Sydney Johnson<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Daisy Nguyen <\/em><\/a>and <\/em>Joseph Geha<\/em><\/a> contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n