Will Kilgore outside St. Petersburg City Hall on May 2, 2026. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
It was hot and sunny last Saturday, for International Workers’ Day at a May Day rally with about 200 people gathered outside St. Petersburg City Hall. Some delivered speeches before a march to Williams Park along Central Avenue in downtown, and then back.
It began with speeches from local organizers and St. Pete Council Member Richie Floyd (District 8).
“Today is May Day, a historic celebration of Labor Rights and working people in this country, so I always like to attend,” Floyd told San Pedro Gazette and Creative Loafing Tampa Bay after his speech. “I’m glad to see so many people out here willing to support labor and working people, and push back against the nonsense that’s going on in Washington D.C. and Tallahassee.”
Others spoke about rising living costs, gas prices, war in Iran, and immigration enforcement, among other topics.
Will Kilgore, with the St. Pete Tenants Union, asked, “Why are we seeing gas prices go through the roof, while our government is using billions of our tax dollars to sustain an unprovoked war on the nation of Iran?”
Ali Abdel-Qader, an organizer with the Tampa Bay branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, emphasized hard-won labor rights in the United States, including minimum wage, overtime and the weekend.
Once the speeches concluded, the march to Williams Park began. Starting on the road, police soon directed them to the sidewalks. Throughout, they chanted while drivers honked or shouted as they passed.
Juan José Jaramillo, a demonstrator, spoke with the San Pedro Gazette in Williams Park, saying he attended because he believes there are many in the country “that work multiple jobs just to be able to subsist, and that’s incredibly impractical and unjust.”
Ash, another attendee, expressed that she wants billionaires to be taxed “all the moneys,” and explained, “I just want everyday Americans to have access to healthcare, and working families to have access to childcare, and them not having to work 60-80 hours a week.”
Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BaySt. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BaySt. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BaySt. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BaySt. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BaySt. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BaySt. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BaySt. Petersburg Police officers patrol as activists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered, rallied and marched from the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayCredit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa BayActivists, labor organizers and pro-immigrant groups gathered and rallied at the steps of Saint Petersburg City Hall to hold space in observance for the International MAYDAY rallies that were planned across the globe. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
