NYU students and faculty joined thousands at demonstrations across the city on Thursday in honor of International Workers’ Day, calling for the university to meet bargaining demands of its RA and faculty unions and revise its safety protocols to address heightened concerns about the visa security of noncitizen students and faculty. 

“We felt it was important to show up, especially since this May Day was very focused on immigrant rights,” Ebtesham Ahmed, a representative from NYU’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, told WSN. “It’s horrendous because this entire country has been built up by the exploitation of immigrant workers — we have to continue fighting for immigrants.”

At the first demonstration, around two dozen members from NYU’s contract faculty union, Young Democratic Socialists of America and SDS gathered in Garibaldi Plaza for a series of speeches linking NYU’s worker unions to rights for international students. The group chanted “ICE off campus” and “NYU, shame on you.”

Speakers referenced a section of NYU’s contract with its graduate student union, GSOC-UAW Local 2110, that affirms the university’s responsibility to “not voluntarily” disclose records that could endanger students’ immigration status. GSOC members argued that while NYU has reiterated its policy to withhold individuals’ information from immigration authorities unless it is legally required to share, a new approach is needed amid the Trump administration’s efforts to change precedents in its crackdown on immigration.

“What we’re asking is to scrap the information,” said Emily Gerace, a third-year Ph.D. candidate and GSOC member. “Them refusing to do that is akin to a voluntary action of giving that information up. They’re choosing to have it sitting there ready, so that when they come with a subpoena, it’s ready to go.”

At 3 p.m., over 20 members of Contract Faculty United and Student Workers at NYU rallied outside the Paulson Center, demanding university administrators to promptly respond to the proposals of its unionized faculty and staff. Protesters held signs that read “CONTRACT NOW!” and “NYU IS A UNION CAMPUS!” and chanted, “We got the power.”

In a series of speeches, CFU members demanded the university bolster its protections for international faculty — a proposal the union has been pushing for since January. RAs who are part of SWAN said that during the last four bargaining sessions, they demanded additional compensation based on the respective workloads of different residential halls besides free housing and meal swipes.

“We have not gotten much of a response from the university,” Ian Askie, a Paulson Center RA and member of SWAN, told WSN. “I am here standing on everything that we have stood on before and we’re ready to continue to bargain in good faith for a contract.”

Several other demonstrations across New York City culminated in a citywide march at around 5:00 p.m. to Foley Square, where more than 6,000 people rallied outside the Supreme Courthouse. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez commenced the speeches, denouncing Trump’s attack on Medicaid and other healthcare programs. Veronica Salama, the New York Civil Liberties Union staff attorney who is part of the legal team representing Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, also condemned Trump for separating Khalil from his family and said Khalil’s arrest violated the first amendment in a speech at the rally.

The crowd then marched up Worth Street and down Broadway, ending at the Charging Bull, which was barricaded by police along with the entrance to the New York Stock Exchange. Protesters held signs that read “SEND THE BILLIONAIRES TO MARS” and “HANDS OFF ALL WORKERS” and chanted phrases such as “Who’s streets, our streets” and “They say cut back, we say fight back,” while also playing drums and music.

“The attack on one of us is an attack on all,” Freedom Socialist Party member Louis Tejada told WSN. “One hundred days of the Trump administration we have seen attacks on student activists, families, immigrants and social services, and we need to stand up and create offenses to stop the rise of the far right.”

Members of SDS, YDSA and several identity-based affinity groups addressed the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration also organized a commemoration at around 8 p.m. for immigrants and international students who have been deported, detained or disappeared. The gathering was held on the steps near Garibaldi Plaza with images of people who had been deported alongside a list of their names. Some of the signs read “MELT ICE” and “Hands off our students” with candles and flowers placed in front of the signs. 

“They’re not ambiguous, but they are, in fact, actual people, like families, friends, loved ones,” one of the speakers, who requested anonymity, said. “People need a site to express grief, hope, fear and anxiety, since you don’t have a lot of those spaces here — it’s important to have that kind of area.”

Dharma Niles contributed reporting.

Contact Amanda Chen and Amelia Hernandez Gioia at [email protected].