Gatherings in the city May rally and demos in Bonn city center

Bonn · While union official Bernd Weede spoke at Bonn Marktplatz in the city center, proponents of a guaranteed basic income gathered on the square in front of the Frankenbad swimming facility.

During the break between the welcome speech of Bernd Weede, union official from DGB (umbrella organization of unions), and the podium discussion that followed, 21-year-old Ella Anschein read her poem. The so-called “poetry slammer” took a critical look at her generation’s understanding of politics - and indeed, at first glance, the union rally on May Day in Bonn’s city center, revealed that people under age 40 were clearly in the minority.

That was the case even though the topics were certainly cross-generational. In his welcome speech, Weede touched on a wide range of themes from the discrimination of women in the workplace to the current debate on Islam to wage negotiations for newspaper reporters, which has not received much attention in the press. The panel discussion that followed focused on these topics in Bonn: low-income housing, child poverty, the situation in Bonn schools and day cares, and traffic in the city. Rainer Bohnet moderated the panel, participants were Weede, Sibylle Clement who represented primary school teachers, Ulrich Hamacher representing the charitable organization of Protestant churches in Germany, and Alina Kobold from Telekom’s division that trains young people.

No longer a classic May Day demo

Even if they weren’t the majority, among the participants were definitely some from the generation of the young poet. Two 20-year-olds, Sabine Sedlaczek and Paula Gottman are active in the small party called “Democracy in movement”, founded in 2017. They said they supported the values of the trade unions and came to the rally to do some networking.

At around 12:30 pm, about 150 participants took part in a demonstration of left-wing politician Jürgen Repschläger, and here the younger generation was definitely better represented. They expressed regret that the classic May Day demonstration, previously organized by the DGB, has not taken place in two years now. They felt it wasn’t quite right that there be no union demonstration on Labor Day.

Rally on Frankenplatz

The average age of participants in the rally at Frankenplatz was clearly below forty. Around 150 participants demonstrated for a basic guaranteed income. Because the DGB didn’t support this, they came here and not to the Marktplatz rally. Two young people, Eva and Johannes, said they believed that the world of work would be hugely transformed, ensuring participation even without wage tariffs.

(Orig. text: Leif Kubik / Translation: ck)

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