May Day presentations highlight worker solidarity, TPS uncertainty and day-labor concerns

Council members and labor leaders used the meeting to call attention to May Day and the role of workers and immigrant communities in the city.

Councilmember Sotto Martinez and Isabel Jurado led a May Day presentation describing the history of immigrant labor marches in Los Angeles and invited residents to the May Day march. Jurado and other council members emphasized that workers “keep the city running” and that May Day combines labor demands with immigrant-rights advocacy.

Speakers from the public included Santos Gonzales, a TPS beneficiary from El Salvador, who described legal uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries while the U.S. Supreme Court hears related cases. Day labor leaders and a fast-food worker, Candida Masin, spoke about ICE raids, workplace intimidation and the push for a fast-food fair work ordinance that would provide in-person training and workplace protections.

Labor and community leaders urged the council to support funding and operational steps that protect workers, citing recent enforcement actions and the need for services such as legal representation and rapid-response assistance.