Washington, DC, May 1—Members of Progressive Labor Party (PLP) joined more than 50 students and workers at an intense May Day protest at the Embassy of the Philippines. The three-hour protest started with demands for Ambassador Romualdez to protect Filipinos who have been detained by ICE:  “Do your Job – Or Step Down!”  After 30 minutes, an embassy worker came out to the gate to accept the letter with specific demands. 

Fascism: a global capitalist cancer

The rally picked up steam as more students and workers joined the May Day rally for all migrants and for workers power. Organizers  spoke of fascism and martial law in the Philippines. They hailed the four-day strike of the Nexperia chip makers that had stood up to the Marcos regime this year and demanded a 1,200-peso minimum wage. Calling out the Balikatan (so called “shoulder-to-shoulder” war games) along with purchases by the Philippines  of F-16 fighters, speakers chanted “U.S. out of the Philippines.” The last speaker demanded an end to U.S. imperialism and war ending with the resounding chant: “Workers of the World, Unite!”. 

PLP members spoke with a militant protester from American University about fighting for communism—going beyond the strategy for national liberation. We shared May Day invites to our dinner and distributed CHALLENGE newspapers to fellow demonstrators and friends in the student organization from the University of Maryland. The working class struggle is global!