Roseville educators lead local May Day rally
'Tax the rich. Feed the poor.’
Education Minnesota and Roseville area teachers partnered with Do Good Roseville and community members for a gathering and march on May 1 with the rally cry “People Over Billionaires.”
A small crowd assembled in the parking lot of Roseville Area High School near Grace Church as a starting point for the "May Day Strong: People Over Billionaires" march at 4:00 p.m. Do Good Roseville co-founder Kathy Ramundt spoke briefly at the beginning of the rally.
Current Education Minnesota-Roseville president and local teacher Maria Lê Selmer led the group in labor-focused declarations, chanting, “People over profit. Corruption is destruction," and “Tax the rich. Feed the poor. Remember who you’re working for.”
Representative David Gottfried (DFL) House District 40B gave a short speech on the importance and impacts of unions and paid homage to people who have fought for fair wages and workplace safety.
Gottfried expressed his gratitude and pride for graduating from Roseville Area High School. He encouraged community members to continue showing up for the efforts, stating “unfortunately, it will likely get worse before it gets better.” He praised participants for choosing to be there and closed his comments with solidarity, saying, “Remember, as a representative, I work for you. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”
The march began at the school, went down Hamline Ave. and made a two-mile loop around County Rd B, Lexington, and B2, back to the parking lot.
Three participants, Nancy Davis-Ortiz, Diane Davis, and Robin Ray, dressed in a huge inflatable owl costume, stationed themselves on the Highway 36 bridge on Hamline, with their signs.
Davis-Ortiz, a U.S. Army veteran, stated, “It’s unconscionable what is happening. One coward…making decisions for everyone. Many of us who have served in the military did so for democratic values, democracy for all. I’m here for everybody.”
Diane Davis, Davis-Ortiz’s sister, shared, “This is a way to be involved and feel like you have some voice … just showing up and being a part of something.”
Robin Ray, in the owl costume, added, “I don’t want to live in a country that isn’t a democracy. This is one small way I can help protect our rights.”
Marching down County Road B towards Lexington, another participant, Joan, who opted not to share her last name, shared her motivation for taking her voice to the streets, “I’ve been working with immigrants for many years. Seeing what they’ve gone through recently has been devastating…I’m afraid our democracy is being eroded daily by people in power. I’m marching today because I want to live in a democracy.”
Roseville educators, politicians and community members at May Day Strong Rally joined over a century-long tradition in the national labor movement. For many communities across the country, May Day rallies accompanied strikes and boycotts as economic protest. This year, the events came after a sequence of economic blackouts brought on by the No Kings protests. The Roseville march also followed several months of contract negotiations between the teacher’s union and the district.
On February 25 the Roseville Area School district and Education Minnesota-Roseville came to an agreement on the teacher contract for 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. The school board voted unanimously in favor of approving the final contract terms at the March 31 meeting. For a summary of the improvements negotiated for the contract, view the agenda document here.
More information about Education Minnesota–Roseville is available on their website.
ICYMI
Naomi Krueger
