May Day event showcases struggles of local working class

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It's the first day of May, and celebrations are happening across the country for International Workers' Day.

The day is known as May Day and is dedicated to honoring the achievements and struggles of the working class.

An event was held at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to celebrate workers from every background.

Alfredo Calles says the spirit of May Day is alive and well, not just in his hometown in Mexico but also in the United States.

“It is really important for people because they recognize their efforts," Calles said. "At least for one day, all of us are equal.”

UTRGV Senior Zoe Arriaga says the working class has gone through many struggles and hurdles.

“I think a lot of things feel unstable, unsure, and we don’t know what headlines we are going to wake up to tomorrow... it is overwhelming," Arraiga said.

Others like Laila Zepeda say they have seen and felt the effects of raids and other anti-immigrant worker policies.

“It's sad, I can say that," Zepeda said. “I feel like it does affect me and some of my family, so I think it is important that we all work together to help fix it.”

The organization Poder Latinx held this event to honor workers and to inform what they can do to stay protected.

They also informed students about the importance of voting.

Latinx Poder Texas State Director Vianey Preciado and her team passed out flyers about workers’ rights and registered students to vote.

“There are folks out there who are scared no matter what their immigration status is, whether they are a U.S. citizen, they're undocumented, they're on DACA, no matter what their immigration status is, I think it's safe to say that people all across the country are scared, and you know their reasons and their feelings are very valid for that," Preciado said.

Preciado hopes students remember their rights when entering the workforce and how they can protect their loved ones.

“Standing behind our workers, our immigrant workers, making sure that we recognize the resiliency that they go through every single day when they wake up in the morning and they do the jobs that they have to do, the power that they have, the collective power that they have as a community," Preciado said.

Students like Narcedalia Anaya say change begins with casting their ballot.

“Sometimes we look at big changes as unrealistic and that we cannot contribute to that, but people forget that we can and democracy is supposed to be that contributing input and our little piece to make that bigger change," Anaya said.