Hundreds of protesters rallied at the University of Southern Maine in Portland on Thursday afternoon as part of a National Day of Action against President Trump's policies on worker rights, education and immigration.
At USM, graduate students called for a union contract. Brendan McQuade, Chair of the Criminology and Sociology Departments at USM, said graduate student workers have gone more than 500 days without fair wages.
"It is a day of resistance and a day of rebirth," McQuade said. "Today we remember the Haymarket murders, murdered by the state for demanding the 8 hour work day. Their sacrifice helped spark a global movement for working class dignity."
The group marched from USM to the Post Office on Forest Avenue and finished at Congress Street Park.
Deborah Donovan, a Maine State Nurses Association member who works at Maine Medical Center, said she's noticed more diverse groups participating in these rallies and she's hopeful they will effect change.
"Our rights are being trampled on. Immigrants are being hauled off to jails in El Savador without any due process rights...no way to get them back," she said.
The group heard from educators, community leaders and activists.
May Day of Action rallies took place in Maine and across the country.