What to know about the MacArthur Park May Day rally and march in LA

A May Day rally and march is planned for Friday from MacArthur Park to Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.

The gathering is expected to begin at about 10 a.m. in the park, where speeches are planned head of the march to Grand Park. The event is one of several in California and around the country in recognition of May Day.

The march route from MacArthur Park to Grand Park spans roughly 3 miles and passes through areas with longstanding ties to Los Angeles’ immigrant communities, organizers said.

Thousands of workers and activists are expected to attend.

Labor and immigrant rights groups will be part of the demonstrations for International Workers’ Day, with events planned across California calling for expanded worker protections and immigration reforms.

Participants are expected to include janitors, security officers, airport workers and stadium employees affiliated with SEIU-United Service Workers West, along with a coalition of labor unions, civil rights organizations, immigrant advocacy groups and faith leaders.

International Workers’ Day is recognized in many countries around the world, with its origins dating back to the 1880s and initially supporting the establishment of an eight-hour work day. In the United States, the May 1 date was chosen to commemorate a general strike that began on the date in 1886 and ended with the Haymarket affair of May 4, 1886, when a peaceful rally in Chicago’s Haymarket Square in support of workers ended with an unknown person throwing a dynamite bomb at police as they acted to disperse the meeting.