The echoes of car horns could be heard on the corner of Campbell Lane and Gary Farms Boulevard on Friday morning as patrons drove past a crowd of “MayDay” protesters holding signs.
“Honk if Gas Prices Are Too High,” “Eat the Rich,” “One Nation Under Distress” and “MayDay – Democracy in Danger,” were a few of many phrases written in bold on the protest signs.
In honor of International Workers Day on May 1, Warren County community members rallied together for a MayDay protest organized by SOKY Indivisible, according to Teresa Christmas, a SOKY Indivisible organizer. Using their voices and microphones, Christmas and other protesters joined forces to commemorate labor unions by boycotting corporations and protesting price gouging.
“Even the billionaires need us,” Christmas said. “So, let’s not let them have us.”
Corporations like Kroger are price-gouging and taking advantage of high inflation across the United States, Christmas said. She said she decided to participate in the MayDay protest out of concern for the future of her daughters and grandchildren.
Historically, Christmas said labor unions have been advocates for workers’ rights, child labor laws, safer work environments and breaks.
Christmas said it is evident throughout history that boycotting does affect change. She said a prime example of this was the 1970 Delano Grape Strike led by the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee.
On September 8, 1965, over 800 Filipino farmworkers affiliated with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee began striking against the grape vineyards they worked for around Delano, California, according to an article by the National Park Service. The website stated that workers demanded raises in their hourly wages and piece rates for each box of grapes packed, which eventually turned the labor dispute into a “civil rights struggle” for achieving justice for farmworkers.
“It’s not a red issue or a blue issue,” Christmas said. “Really, it’s about corporations versus us as people.”
Among the MayDay protesters stood retired teacher Natalie Barman, who said she and other protesters attended the protest to support workers over the “oligarchs and large companies taking money from local businesses and communities.” She said these companies make millions and billions, but they still pay their workers very little.
“That was the purpose of today,” Barman said. “It was about workers’ rights for the working class.”
Megan Wingfield, a candidate running against Congressman Brett Gutherie to represent Kentucky’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, also attended the protest to support workers’ rights. Wingfield said she has been involved in multiple protests in the past and has even started a local group with her friends called SOKY Solidarity. She said the group has led marches, rallies, “Know Your Rights” campaigns and other events to lay the groundwork for change.
Considering the state of the nation’s economy, Wingfield said participating in these kinds of protests is important for building class solidarity within the community.
Wingfield said corporations, billionaires and people in power do not care about the priorities of workers and citizens in communities that don’t impact them directly. She said citizens need to stand together against the people in power who are impacting communities like Bowling Green.
“Greed comes into our communities, and they take advantage of our labor, our resources and our people,” Wingfield said. “They leave us behind. I don’t know how many times Kentucky has to learn that lesson before we do something about it.”
Wingfield said as someone who has been doing protests for a long time, she has seen a “big difference” in Bowling Green because of different protests over the last year .
Wingfield said people realize through these protests that the community isn’t as “Republican” or “red-majority” as one may think.
Wingfield said aside from protesting, the only way to see a change is to go out and vote.
“Every action matters,” Wingfield said.
