What you need to know: May Day demonstrations in Greater St. Louis

On May Day, more than a dozen local organizations, including immigrant advocacy groups, abortion-rights organizations, labor unions, and student groups, are holding a general strike and rallies across the St. Louis region. The groups share general political discontent related to wealth, inequality, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with various specific policy goals. Former U.S. Representative Cori Bush and The Missouri Workers Center will lead a rally at Aloe Plaza, protesting against Eddie McVey, owner of Maggie O’Brien’s Irish Pub and a member of the St. Louis City Board of Police Commissioners. The police board is in budget negotiations with the city government, with the city's fiscal board approving $220 million for the department, a 4.3% increase. St. Louis Aldermen Rasheen Aldridge, Daniela Velázquez, Laura Keys, Alisha Sonnier, and Board President Megan Green have called for a general strike. Among the various demonstrations, an anti-data center protest is scheduled outside the St. Louis City Municipal Court from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. This protest is a response to St. Louis officials' recent approval of a $3 billion data center project located near the Armory. Additionally, the Washington University Graduate Workers Union will rally against funding cuts to its school of arts and sciences and in support of international students facing ICE presence. Smaller demonstrations are also planned in Warrenton, Pacific, Hillsboro, Missouri, and Belleville, Illinois, with the Belleville event focusing on public school funding deficits and tax breaks for corporations.