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May 1 (UPI) -- International Workers Day took on a new sense of urgency Friday as Americans across the country participated in protests -- some wanting to lift coronavirus-related lockdowns, others seeking government protections. The day, often referred to as May Day, is traditionally promoted by the global labor movement that celebrates and calls for protections for the working classes.
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This year's COVID-19 pandemic means many workers have lost their jobs or are finding themselves on the front lines of battling the disease -- in some cases, like grocery workers, unexpectedly.
Most states this week began easing stay-at-home orders implemented over the past two months to prevent the spread of the virus. While no one state has fully flipped the switch and gone back to pre-pandemic levels of activity, some are allowing more businesses to operate under new restrictions.
Some workers, though, think that's not enough.
In Ohio, a group of protesters gathered outside the Statehouse in Columbus, calling on Gov. Mike DeWine to end his stay-at-home order.
A number of protesters were armed, some opening up the capitol's windows and shouting at those inside. WSYX-TV reported that state troopers wearing riot gear lined hallways inside the Statehouse.
The protest came ahead of a planned news briefing in which the governor announced the easing of restrictions.
A new "Stay Safe Ohio" order still includes travel and shelter-at-home restrictions, but reopens some businesses under lower capacity and allows residents to commute to reopened businesses.
"I know this is hard. I get it. But we have to stick together. We have a path. Let's keep going. Let's keep each other safe. Let's get our businesses open. I appreciate what everyone has done. You've made sacrifices and continue to make them," DeWine said in a tweet.
During his briefing, DeWine said he respected Ohioans right to protest, but decried one anti-Semitic sign he saw as "vile and disgusting."
The Conservative Party of New York State, meanwhile, promoted its own series of protests in eight cities -- Binghamton, Buffalo, Hauppauge, Jamestown, Mineola, New York City, Rochester and Syracuse.
Participants in New York City -- the epicenter of the United States' COVID-19 crisis -- gathered in City Hall Park. They called for officials to reopen the state as the number of new cases began slowing.
New York has 313,000 confirmed cases with more than 23,000 deaths. The state reached its peak of new cases earlier this month, nearly 10,000 per day, and dropped to about 6,000 per day Friday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday said that though schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year, he's considering allowing regional reopenings. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York City will allow pedestrians and bicyclists back onto the streets as the weather warms, as way to enhance social distancing measures. The first 7 miles worth of streets will be reopened on Monday and more will follow for the rest of May.
Ohio and New York's protests came one day after armed protesters gathered at Michigan's capitol building, demanding Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reopen the state.
She signed three executive orders extending the state of emergency after the state's Republican-controlled legislature voted against continuing the emergency and disaster declaration that was set to expire at midnight Friday.
Whitmer called Thursday's protests were "disturbing," saying she observed Confederate flags, and signs featuring swastikas and nooses.
Meanwhile, protesters in Washington, D.C., took a different approach, calling for a people's bailout -- assistance for workers affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
Shutdown DC, which organized the demonstration, held events each day between Earth Day on April 22, and Friday.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has cracked open the veneer of our economic and social system," the organization said on its website.
"It's putting the inequities in healthcare, wealth, housing, education, and much more on full display, and exacerbating existing crises. And unless we stop them, the politicians and lobbyists will continue to take advantage of this pandemic to suppress the vote, funnel hundreds of billions of dollars to their corporate cronies, and loosen already inadequate environmental regulations."
