Bay Area May Day/pro-Palestinian protests could impact your commute

ByJ.R. Stone KGO logo

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Bay Area May Day/Gaza protests could impact your commute

There are dozens of protests scheduled across the Bay Area for May Day, many of which are being linked to pro-Palestinian rallies.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Wednesday, May 1, 2024 marks May Day, which over the years has turned into a huge protest day for workers.

UPDATE: Port of Oakland shutdown among several planned Gaza, May Day protests in Bay Area

There are dozens of protests scheduled across the Bay Area, many of which are being linked to pro-Palestinian rallies.

Seeing a march and rally shutdown the Port of Oakland on International Workers' Day, known as May Day - is nothing new.

This year though May Day, and the threat another port shutdown, comes just weeks after pro-Palestinian protesters shut down the Golden Gate Bridge and Interstate 880. And it comes as hundreds of college students have taken to their campuses to protest the situation in Gaza. As for what will happen Wednesday,

MORE: UC Berkeley pro-Palestinian encampment growing larger by the day

"Nobody knows and of course the protesters don't want anyone to know where they are going to be and what they are going to do. Law enforcement is geared up, I think in a pretty major responsive effort to keep highways and bridges open," says professor Rory Little of UC Law San Francisco.

Little says there is much more acceptance of protests in the Bay Area, many here protested themselves in the 60s and 70s. He believes the recent bridge and highway shutdowns by pro-Palestinian protesters though, angered many people.

"Angry with the idea that a minority group of protesters could effectively shutdown quadrants of the Bay Area, and I don't think that was good for their message," said Little.

May Day will happen as college campus protests across the country heat up. Tuesday night in New York City, police cleared the Columbia University encampment and arrested those who took over a campus building.

MORE: Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters in custody; Hamilton Hall, encampment cleared at Columbia: NYPD

A night and day difference from what we're seeing in Berkeley where police have kept distance from the now 175 tents.

"I was at the encampment today at UC Berkeley and it was actually surprisingly peaceful and you could hear birds chirping. I'm proud thus far and I'm really hopeful that we can maintain the peaceful atmosphere at UC Berkeley," said assistant professor Ericka Weissinger of the Goldman School of Public Policy.

That peaceful atmosphere is similar to current scenes at Stanford, San Francisco State, and Sonoma State.

We did reach out to San Francisco police and Oakland police to see if they are preparing for May Day with extra officers but did not hear back from either department. Be aware that your commute could be affected if there is another highway protest.