Union, Occupy L.A. to Hold May Day Rallies

Labor unions and the Occupy Los Angeles movement have major events planned for May Day, the annual day of celebration for the international labor movement, including a demonstration by an expected 1,200 union members inside Los Angeles International Airport.

Travelers were warned by Los Angeles World Airports to expect heavy traffic between noon and 4 p.m. Tuesday due to the temporary closure of Century Boulevard between Airport Boulevard and the LAX Central Terminal area. Departing passengers were advised to add 45 minutes to their drive time to make sure they catch their flights.

About 1,200 members of the SEIU 1877 - United Service Workers West will demonstrate at noon inside the Tom Bradley International Terminal and then march east onto Century Boulevard to Avion Street, where the march will end.

Westbound traffic on Century Boulevard toward LAX will be diverted and traffic exiting the airport will be diverted to Sepulveda Boulevard. Flight operations were expected to be normal.

The Occupy Los Angeles movement also is planning a massive demonstration with four caravans from the north, south, east and west converging in Los Angeles' downtown financial district for a rally. The group's West Wind caravan, for example, will start with a 10 a.m. rally at Wilshire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica and will include flashpoint rallies and flash mobs at the Veterans Affairs building, at Rodeo Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard, at a Bank of America on Wilshire, at MacArthur Park and in Skid Row before joining the downtown rally.

Some streets in downtown Los Angeles will be closed as early as 6 a.m. and will continue to be closed until 7:30 p.m. (See attached map.) Bus routes downtown also will be detoured due to the street closures from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., more details right here.

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles is planning a demonstration starting at 1 p.m. at Olympic and Broadway that will be followed by a march to First and Broadway for a rally.

The Occupy L.A. group at 4 p.m. will meet up with the immigrants rights rally and move to Pershing Square.

Other actions include a march from Wilshire and Westwood to Wilshire and La Brea at 2 p.m.

Similar Occupy rallies are planned in other major cities, including its birthplace of Wall St. in New York.

May 1 is recognized as a labor holiday in more than 80 countries. It is known as International Workers' Day and commemmorates the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in which police killed dozens of workers during a general strike for the eight-hour workday.