On May Day, many marchers for many causes BAY AREA Anti-war activists close ports, immigrant advocates march - education cuts protested

Flag bearers wave the multi-nation flags that were sewn together and carried at the front of an immigrant rights march from Dolores Park to City Hall in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, May 1, 2008. Part of a bay area wide May Day protest demanding an end to the war in Iraq and more rights for immigrants. Photo by Michael Maloney / San Francisco Chronicle less Flag bearers wave the multi-nation flags that were sewn together and carried at the front of an immigrant rights march from Dolores Park to City Hall in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, May 1, 2008. Part of ... more Photo: Michael Maloney Photo: Michael Maloney Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close On May Day, many marchers for many causes 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

The Bay Area celebrated May Day in traditional fashion Thursday - with an array of protests around the region: for an end to the war in Iraq, against education budget cuts and in favor of legalization for undocumented immigrants.

Dockworkers with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union walked off the job at ports up and down the West Coast, including Oakland and San Francisco, calling for an end to the war. Union officials estimated the number of workers at 25,000 while maritime officials placed the number closer to 10,000.

Anti-war protesters, joining dockworkers and other labor leaders, marched down the Embarcadero from Fisherman's Wharf to Justin Herman Plaza, where a rally drew several hundred protesters and onlookers.

Students at San Francisco State University, UC Berkeley and other college campuses staged walkouts and teach-ins over the state's proposed cuts to education spending.

By late afternoon, the attention shifted toward immigrant rights - with thousands of marchers taking to the streets in San Francisco and Oakland.

Protesters said they want laws making it easier to work, obtain driver's licenses and keep families united, without constant fear of deportation.

This year's marches - in major cities across the United States - did not rival the huge immigrant rights marches during the spring of 2006, in which several million protesters took to the streets across the country.

But immigrant rights advocates are continuing the drumbeat, urging Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration overhaul that would provide a path to legal status, and ultimately citizenship, for the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States.

Groups that favor more restrictive immigration policies denounced Thursday's marches.

"The U.S. should use Mexico's legal immigration policy as a model, which would bar burdensome immigrants and would not allow the chain migration of extended families, so that we can first improve life for those who are already here legally, U.S. and foreign-born," said Yeh Ling Ling, director of the Oakland-based Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America.

The day of protests began at about dawn at the Port of Oakland, where dozens of anti-war protesters rallied outside the port's rail terminal. They waved signs and urged truckers and other port workers to join the longshore workers in staying off the job, but not try to block their access.

"We're here to support the longshore union workers," said Toby Blome of El Cerrito who was carrying a large peace symbol fashioned from a hula hoop and covered in artificial flowers. "This is a very courageous effort they're doing."

Operations in Oakland and other West Coast ports ground to a halt Thursday after ILWU workers stayed off the job, said Steve Getzug, spokesman for the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents companies that move cargo through the ports.

"There is no activity," he said. "The ILWU struck West Coast ports and brought cargo operations to a virtual standstill."

In San Francisco, marchers were urged on by a spirited brass band and led by the ILWU drill team, wearing taps on their shoes and carrying grappling hooks in their hands. At Justin Herman Plaza, Clarence Thomas, an ILWU spokesman, praised the protesters for walking off the job and called on others to join them.

"Could you imagine if this were being duplicated in more places in all the major sectors of the economy?" he said. "It would send a message that we want this war to end. It's killing our children and diverting resources from domestic needs."

At San Francisco State University, hundreds of students walked out of classes at noon to protest fee hikes - then ended up blocking traffic on busy 19th Avenue in front of the campus for about half an hour, said campus spokeswoman Ellen Griffin.

The march from Dolores Park to the Civic Center drew an energetic and youthful crowd of hundreds of people, who walked to chanting and drumming. Two dozen teenagers led the march, carrying a banner that depicted flags of all the nations of the Americas - from Canada to Chile. Marchers were accompanied by a mixture of bouncy Mexican corridos and sing-song chants in English, including "We are people, we are not illegal."

Across the bay, hundreds of immigrants and supporters flooded the Fruitvale BART station for a march to Oakland City Hall for a rally. The rally featured Aztec dancers, singers and speeches demanding better rights for immigrants.

"All we want to do is work and put food on the table," said Jamilent Canaca, a mother of two from Hayward who works in construction, through a translator. "But it's very difficult to find employment and support your family. We still have to struggle, like we're still in a Third World country."

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-- Dockworkers on the West Coast brought port operations to a halt for eight hours in a war protest on May Day. C1