Hundreds of residents gathered at the intersection of Broad Street and South Street on Sunday to protest the Trump administration in honor of International Workers’ Day, also referred to as May Day.
Organized by SLO 50501, Indivisible and the SLO County Democratic Party, protesters rallied against recent actions by the Trump administration and Elon Musk. This protest accompanies other San Luis Obispo rallies, with locals showing up in numbers for the “Hands Off!” protest and President’s Day protests in recent months.Â
Throughout the protest, organizers also collected donations for those struggling from budget and staffing cuts to federal assistance programs.Â
“We’ve talked to lots of people who rely on Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, people who worked in the federal government and lost their jobs,” said Emily Pomeroy, a volunteer and representative of SLO 50501. “We wanted to show the community that if the administration won’t take care of each other and won’t take care of our people, we will step in.”
Though police were present and some passing by expressed disagreement with attendees, no counter-protests occurred.
Federal worker Ben Vizzachero volunteered to help demonstrators safely navigate traffic and remain peaceful. Vizzachero lost his job as a wildlife biologist for the Los Padres National Forest. While he was eventually hired back, he said he is now struggling with staffing cuts.
“So many smart, educated, brilliant people are being pushed out,” Vizzachero said. “I was already doing the job of two people, and now I’m doing the job of three or four.”
Vizzachero mentioned May Day itself as his motivation for protesting. He cited the historical significance of the holiday, which celebrates labor movements around the world, and also expressed concern for both public and private workers in the future.
Simone Huls, a language pathologist from Atascadero who provides transgender voice therapy services, came to support her patients who she feels are “under attack”.
“Everybody is very fearful and is just taking this day by day,” Huls said.
