Unions, progressives, and immigrant rights advocate rally on May Day by the Statue of Liberty in Jersey City.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets today across the United States in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, and many other cities in support of labor and immigrant rights on May Day, the original Labor Day. Similar protests took place around the world in Paris and Berlin, among major cities.

Many demonstrators in the U.S. strongly criticized Trump and his anti-immigrant policies. They mainly came out against his desire to deport undocumented residents and to build an impractical wall on the U.S.-Mexican border. Others came out in support of raising the minimum wage.

“I’m here for the people who have to balance their checkbooks off the attitudes of others,” said Quantina Pringle, a 34-year-old restaurant server and member of Restaurant Opportunities Center, a worker’s group that helped organize the May Day rallies. Pringle spoke at a rally in Washington, DC and called for an end to sexual harassment and an increase in the minimum wage for tipped workers, which currently stands at $2.77 an hour.

Many organizations joined together to flood the streets including AFSCME, AFT, SEIU, LIUNA, CWA, Working Families, Move On, and many others. New workers’ rights groups, such as Fight for 15, also made a significant show of force.

In an unexpected development, Google and Facebook announced they wouldn’t retaliate against workers who took of today to protest to show their support for immigrant rights. They encouraged their contractors to let their employees do the same. Other tech firms followed suit.

Silicon Valley is especially reliant on HB-1 visa which permits its holders to work in the U.S. but not stay in the U.S. permanently.

Coming off the flurry of recent anti-Trump protests, today’s May Day protests were the latest in a series of actions that have shown widespread discontent with the Trump Administration.

Labor Day originated in the United States on May 1st in the late 19th century after a series of violent labor strikes to mark a day for workers. It was moved to the end of summer by Congress to remove its politically radical connotations.

There have been many calls for a General Strike whereby much of the U.S. workforce would stay home from work on a designated day. However, with many labor unions forced to abide by no strike clauses in their contracts and many non-unionized workers living paycheck to paycheck, it’s a difficult goal to achieve.

However, there were some small-scale successes with businesses dependent on immigrant workers who went on strike in Grand Rapids, Mich. and Lawrence, Mass. shut down today.

Many unions are reluctant to fully oppose Trump due to the strong support he received from much of their membership. Forty-three percent of union households are said to have voted for Trump in the past election. Many embraced him due to his anti-free trade stance as well as his self-portrayal as an agent of populist change in stark contrast to Hillary Clinton.

While the goal of a General Strike might seem quixotic, that doesn’t take away from its worthiness of its aim of fighting for better working conditions, wages, and benefits in this age of great inequality.

To fully combat inequality, new organizations are needed in the face of the attacks faced by workers. “Solidarity” must be renewed and exist as more than a mere platitude.

White collar professionals must realize they have more in common with independent contractors, temp workers, and others than with C-Suite management. They must realize the benefit of working together before they too see their benefits cut and their jobs outsourced.