On May 1, Columbia Student Union and Student Workers of Columbia held a picket line near the Sundial for May Day, commemorating the US labor rights movement. The protest advocated for workers’ rights while also covering a number of other topics including the war in Gaza, ICE detentions, and University divestment from Israel. 

On May 1, Columbia Student Union and Student Workers of Columbia held a picket line at the Sundial in honor of May Day, which “commemorates the labor movement in the US,” according to an instagram post publicizing the demonstration. The picket line’s purpose was to “honor the struggle for workers’ rights and solidarity.”

At 2:30 pm, when the demonstration was slated to start, organizers began setting up around the Sundial and College Walk. About one dozen people wearing neon vests gathered as a tour group walked by. 

The group began marching about 15 minutes later. Demonstrators established the picket line in an oval around the Sundial, chanting and holding signs advocating for labor unions and workers’ rights. Some chants included “Every minute, every hour, union strong student power” and “Get up, get down, New York is a union town.” 

Specific groups were also highlighted through the chants, with some speaking specifically to international student rights, healthcare rights, and student workers. By 3 pm, the group had grown to about 20 people. Demonstrators held signs reading “Education NOT Deportation,” “UAW says: fight for our future,” and “Free Mahmoud now.” Although the picket was publicizes as taking place in defense of workers’ rights and labor unions, several individuals wore keffiyehs and held signs referring to the war in Gaza and Immigration and Customs Enforcement on campus. 

At the beginning of the demonstration, Public Safety was lined up around the area, but dispersed around 3:10 pm. Chanting continued and covered a variety of topics, including calling out Acting Columbia President Claire Shipman, describing her as a “lying fascist” and referencing the ongoing war in Gaza. One member of the picket line wore a red, white, and blue US-themed costume and an oversized top hat, carrying an American flag that read “Columbia Funds Genocide.”

One individual held an empty bucket, using it as a drum while the rest of the crowd continued to chant. At about 3:30 pm, the group huddled in the middle of the picket line space, and then dispersed.

All images via Bwog Staff