S.F. supervisors, state senator arrested as May Day protest closes SFO roadway
A May Day protest by airport service workers briefly shut down the departure-level roadway at San Francisco International Airport's international terminal Friday, diverting traffic as demonstrators rallied over a wage dispute and broader labor concerns.
Several San Francisco elected officials were arrested after demonstrators blocked the roadway to the international terminal, including Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, Supervisor Connie Chan and former Supervisor Jane Kim. State Sen. Josh Becker, who represents San Mateo County and part of Santa Clara County, was also arrested.
"San Francisco airport is the people's airport," Chan told supporters before her arrest. "We know our workers deserve fair pay, a fair contract, health care and benefits. We're demanding that the workers get that benefits and fair pay right now."
Before making arrests, police warned protesters to clear the street.
"I have been arrested before," Mandelman said. "I've been arrested with the hotel workers, for marriage equality, and I've been arrested for the airport workers. These folks have been trying to get a fair contract for a year, and I wanted to be supportive on this May Day."
The lawmakers were among approximately 25 people cited and released for their actions while protesting President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The demonstration, led by SEIU, was part of a wave of May Day actions across the Bay Area focused on labor and immigrant rights. Hundreds of airport workers rallied Friday morning at the international terminal.
SFO officials said the airport had issued a free speech permit for the demonstration. In a statement, the airport said the permit process is intended to give demonstrators a place to share their message while designating areas that allow passengers to keep moving through the airport.
"As a safety precaution, the upper-level roadway at the International Terminal was temporarily closed," SFO said.
During the closure, vehicles headed to the international terminal were routed to the lower arrivals level. Airport officials also advised travelers to use the Kiss & Fly area at the Rental Car Center for international terminal pickups and drop-offs. Domestic terminals were not affected, SFO said.
The airport later said all lanes on the international terminal roadway had reopened Friday afternoon.
May Day, also known as International Workers' Day, has long been associated with labor organizing and, in the United States, immigrant rights demonstrations. Bay Area protests were held Friday in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, Palo Alto, Santa Rosa, Alameda and other cities.
In San Francisco, demonstrators marched from Civic Center and down Market Street, passing City Hall, the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building and Salesforce Tower as unions and immigrant rights groups joined actions around the region. Dozens of unions were represented, including SEIU, National Nurses United, the Teamsters and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Marchers shook tambourines and chanted, with one pushing a baby in a stroller affixed with a "future union member" sign. Some carried signs proclaiming "Stand up to Trump" and "Stop the war on Iran," as well as a banner embroidered with the "Enough" in more than a dozen languages.
"This is really a day to say ‘enough,'" said Anne Wolf, who created the banner with others at the Richmond Art Center. "Today is also about ICE and the attacks on working people in California whose immigration status shouldn't matter. We're all a working community, and I think the banner expresses that as well."
Francisco Herrera, the co-executive director of San Francisco's Nuevo Sol Day Labor and Domestic Worker Center, said the protest was an occasion for all workers to unite, whether they're employed by a restaurant or a bank.
"If you have a W2, if you can't take a year off without work, you are working class," he said.
Google employee Emma Jackson said speaking out against billionaires is especially important to her as a worker in the tech industry, which has been rocked by waves of mass layoffs in the past year.
"It's our work that generates their billions," Jackson said. "It's great to be in solidarity with so many tech workers coming out against tech billionaires."
Unlike the "No Kings" protests typically held on weekends, the May Day demonstration required many to leave work and school to participate. Sasha Wright, an organizer with Jobs for Justice San Francisco, was heartened to see workers' willingness to join the protest on a weekday afternoon.
"What we've seen in other countries where there's been an authoritarian takeover of the government is that it's going to take more than marches," Wright said. "It's going to take other tactics, like strikes and boycotts. So it's really exciting to see people taking that next step."
Nicholas Weininger said he carved the time out of his day as an engineering-management consultant to join the throngs of people in San Francisco. His homemade sign featured a quote from Péter Magyar, the Hungarian Prime Minister-elect: "Never again a country without consequences."
Joss Pearlman, 15, left class at Lick-Wilmerding High School with three friends to march with other demonstrators toward the Embarcadero.
"As teenage girls, it's just patriarchy in general that we don't think should exist anymore," she said. "We're standing up for things that affect us and affect our community."
Protesters also briefly blocked the roadway outside Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport on Friday morning. Demonstrators gathered at the ILWU Local 6 union hall on Hegenberger Road before marching to the terminals. The union has called on the Port of Oakland to protect port jobs.
Later on Friday, protesters filled Oakland's Fruitvale Plaza, chanting "we want justice for our people," playing traditional Korean drums and waving signs that read "immigrant labor built this country" and "ICE out." Demonstrators marched up 35th Avenue, before returning to Fruitvale Plaza.
In downtown Berkeley, a crowd of more than 100 sporting union T-shirts and safety vests marched to Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park on Friday morning. Many held signs that denounced Trump and his administrative priorities, which many felt had prioritized corporations over working people.
"Income and wealth inequality have reached levels that are untenable," Ida Martinac, a member of SEIU Local 1000 who also serves on the Berkeley Rent Board. "Something has to give. That's why building labor power is so important."
Aldo Toledo contributed to this report.
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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 7:07 PM.