ExcitingAds! May day

May Day march crowd in downtown Portland estimated at 3,000 to 5,000

2007-05-02T03:06:31Z

A mix of union leaders, migrant workers, activists, Amnesty International representatives, bakery workers and black-clad anarchists marched through the streets of downtown Portland this evening as part of the city's annual May Day celebration. No official crowd estimates were available...

More vignettes from rallies, marches

2007-05-02T02:41:48Z

Here are more vignettes from the several thousand who gathered for May Day protests in dowtown Portland and Salem: * Alberto Benitez, wearing an American flag across his chest and a Mexican flag hanging from his belt loop, joined the...

So far, so peaceful

2007-05-02T01:03:00Z

Dave McLaughlin and his 2-year-old son, Beck. Until he moved to Portland, he says, May Day was "just another spring day." How calm is this thing? A clutch of marchers taking a break from the demonstration on behalf of...

Voices from the May Day rally

2007-05-02T00:59:35Z

People streamed into downtown Portland Tuesday and filled a city block on the South Park Blocks for a May Day immigration and worker rights rally. Andonia Papaioannou was there with her husband and two children. She wore a United States...

Another side: "May Day is a communist holiday."

2007-05-02T00:28:38Z

Brady Romey of Battle Ground stages a counter protest against what he and a friend say is a gathering of illegal immigrants seeking special rights. A May Day marcher urges Romey to leave. "Both sides have to be represented," says...

A brief history of May Day

2007-05-02T00:18:32Z

Walter F. Brown is all for immigrant rights. He just worries the people crowding the South Park Blocks this afternoon don't know their history when it comes to May Day's origins. That's why Brown, who served 11 years in...

"They need to know where they come from."

2007-05-01T23:58:09Z

Lucia Lopez and her two sons prepare to march. "Si. Se Puede!" Yes. We can do it. The crowd is responding, fists pumping skyward, to a speaker calling for the legalization of millions of immigrant workers. Lucia Lopez and her...

Sherwood High student: "You have to speak your mind"

2007-05-01T23:53:46Z

Here's what Blanca De La O wants you to know: Immigrants have a right to be in this country, to work here without feeling harassed or afraid, to raise their families without worrying about being deported. And the 18-year-old...

The Message? Depends on who's holding it.

2007-05-01T23:48:58Z

A few signs: "Real Economic Power Lies In Working Class Hands." "No Justice, No Peace. Jobs with Justice." "Fire the Boss." Draped in U.S. flags, migrant workers listen to speeches at this afternoon's rally.A small group of anarchists walk the...

Colors and movements

2007-05-01T23:37:28Z

Joseph RoseAmerican flags mingle with images of socialist revolutionary Che Guevara. The speeches come with a fury, in English and Spanish. From the small group of anarchists waving a black pirate flag on the edge of the rally to day...

May Day rally shaping up to be smaller than last year's

2007-05-01T23:31:06Z

This afternoon's May Day rally won't start moving through downtown for another half hour or so but Jordana Sardo has already noticed a difference from last year's rally. The last May Day march was "gigantic," she said. Thousands of...

What is May Day?

2007-05-01T23:19:31Z

This is Joseph Rose, enterprise reporter for The Oregonian. I have covered May Day rallies and marches in Portland since 2002. Still, every year, I'm amazed to find the wide range of answers that people give when I ask...

Chief: police force prepared to deal with contingencies if May Day rally is disruptive

2007-05-01T23:10:25Z

With several dozen masked anarchists gathering feet away, Portland police Chief Rosie Sizer said officers are prepared to deal with "contingencies" if this afternoon's rally becomes disruptive. Sizer said the permitted event is slated to kick off at 5...

Capitol May Day rally starts with roughly 1,500

2007-05-01T20:22:31Z

In Salem, about 1,500 people crowded the steps of the Capitol for a noon rally and march today, spilling out into the street. They waved red, white and blue flags and signs, and shouted "Si se puede" and "No going...

May Day rally expected to draw crowds downtown this afternoon

2007-05-01T17:05:17Z

People will start to organize about 4 p.m. in the South Park Blocks for this afternoon's May Day rally. The rally will move along Southwest Park and Salmon, then wind through downtown. Some street closures are expected. The rally is...