May 1 was chosen as International Workers' Day in 1889 to commemorate the Chicago Haymarket Affair of May 4, 1886, as an annual reinvigoration of the fight for workplace improvements such as the eight-hour work day.

This year, beginning to emerge from a deadly year-long pandemic, actions marking May Day across Northern California demanded worker rights, housing for all, and racial justice, expressing solidarity with the Chilean general strike. Marches and rallies were held in San Francisco, Oakland, San José, and Fresno. In Oakland, a vacant house was reclaimed to highlight real estate speculator greed and a nighttime march which called for abolishing the police was met with a large and aggressive police presence. In Alameda, protesters rallied outside the homes of those who called police on Mario Gonzalez, leading to his death in April. A "Love Over Hate Unity march and rally" was held in Mountain View. Online events examined the history of May Day, celebrated social justice struggles, and looked back at America's imperialist war in Vietnam.

If you attended a May Day action, publish your photos, video, and reports on Indybay.

San Francisco: Call to Support Organized Labor, Free Mumia and Stand Up for Black/Brown/Asian Unity | The ILWU, Chilean Workers and International Solidarity | Angela Y. Davis and the ILWU lead San Francisco May Day March | Thousands March & Angela Davis Speaks | Many Unions Join in SF May Day March and Rally | ILWU Backs Chilean Dockers In San Francisco! Solidarity Has No Borders | Angela Davis in May Day Visit to ILWU Union Hall | May Day Parade & Rally for Workers’ Rights & Racial Justice (10am) | Social and Economic Justice Film Festival (1pm)

Fresno: Action in Fresno for International Workers' Day

Alameda: White Solidarity Activists Take Over the Block of Racist Cop Callers

Oakland: Partisan Attack on SMC, Call to Action | Mayday 2021 March & Rally (2:30pm) | Bike and Car Caravan (3pm) | Housing Direct Action (TBD) | Abolish The Police (8pm)

San José: May Day 2021 (2:30pm)

Mountain View: Love Over Hate Unity March and Rally (1pm)

Santa Cruz: | Lyrical I and the Uprising Free Concert (12pm) Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival May Day Program (2pm)

Worldwide: May Day Rally: From global pandemic to global class struggle

Online: Mayday! Anarchism, Autonomy, And Artwork | Celebrating the Struggles of the Past | Strike Debt Bay Area Book Group: The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age | 46 Years After the End of the Vietnam War: A Conversation About Empathy & Healing

Related Features: Dueling May Day Protests at SF City Hall | SF May Day Car Caravan | SFPD Wore "Thin Blue Line" Flag Masks While Responding to May Day Protests | May Day Action Occupies Vacant Castro District Building | ILWU Longshore Workers & Truckers Challenge Oakland A's Billionaire Owner (2019) | San José Activists Rally to Call Attention to Unsafe Work Conditions for Samsung Employees (2018) | International Workers' Day Marches and Strikes in Northern California (2017)