All photos in this story were taken by Andrew Wevers.
Hundreds of protesters gathered Thursday outside the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, lining the sidewalk from 27th Way to Rayleigh Road in a show of support for scientific research and workers’ rights amid deep federal budget cuts.
The demonstration, one of several held locally in recent weeks, took place on May 1 — International Workers Day — as part of a global tradition of labor activism. It followed earlier protests at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration campus nearby, where layoffs have begun to ripple through Boulder’s research community.
The crowd carried signs denouncing the Trump administration’s proposed $1.7 billion in cuts to NOAA and broader reductions to federal science programs under the direction of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk. Chants and cheers competed with honks from passing cars.
“There’s so many things wrong right now,” said Barbs Edwards, who lives in Louisville. “We need to know what the weather is, we need them to stop taking jobs away.”
Edwards, like others in the crowd, voiced particular concern for vulnerable global communities that rely on accurate weather data to prepare for climate-driven disasters.
It was the first protest for Sara Tucker, a former NOAA employee who left the agency years ago. “It’s just too important,” she said. “I 100% support NOAA’s mission. It’s to protect lives and property.”
Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett addressed the crowd.
“We wake up each morning, we read the latest headlines and we’re tempted to be gripped by despair,” he said. “But when I see the energy here today, the despair goes away and it’s replaced by hope.”
Brockett highlighted NOAA’s crucial role in Boulder’s emergency preparedness, from flood forecasting to wildfire alerts. “If NOAA is gone, that’s danger to us.”
Referencing the date, the mayor noted that May Day is associated with the call for help. “Except we don’t have anyone who’s just going to come rescue us,” he said. “It’s up to us to save ourselves. So keep your voices loud. Keep your voices strong, stay together, because the only way we’re going to get through this is together as a community.”
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty also spoke, framing the cuts as a constitutional overreach.
“I’m proud to stand with you today and demand that the Trump Administration keeps his hands off these amazing laboratories and our workers,” he said, saying the administration’s actions are in violation of the U.S. Constitution, which gives the authority to fund different agencies to Congress.
“So I am with you today and always, because the rule of law is under assault,” Dougherty said.
The protest drew people from outside the scientific community as well. Shane Misra, a grocery store worker and union member, thanked residents for their support during this year’s King Soopers strike. He warned of future labor battles, saying solidarity was key to winning equitable contracts.
“We actually get to share what we get with everybody else in the country,” he said. “Eventually, it kind of spreads out from here.”
Other speakers addressed the intersection of labor, civil rights and immigration policy. Kristen Aldretti, of the Boulder Immigrant Protection Team, handed out cards with information on what to do during encounters with immigration enforcement.
“Fearmongering by the Trump administration results in immigrants across the country, including here in Boulder County, being afraid to send their children to school, to seek important medical care, to go to work,” Aldretti said. “This is not okay.”
City Councilmember Nicole Speer called on residents to up the pressure. “They know that workers united have power,” she said. “Keep going.”
Near the end of the event, organizer Kenneth Nova led a “die-in” on the sidewalk. Protesters lay silently on the ground as someone rang a bell for each public good or institution he said was under threat — Medicaid, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive freedom, severe weather warnings, among others.
Later, Claudia De la Cruz, a labor advocate from the South Bronx, took the microphone. She had flown in to support a series of workers’ rights events in Boulder and led the crowd in a chant: “Stand up, fight back!”
“This is a distress signal,” Nova said. “And we’re definitely in a distressed situation.”
A researcher at CU Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), which partners with NOAA and is facing major funding risks, said the cuts would be devastating for young scientists. He requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
“Funding science is very important to the future,” he said. “Cutting funding of institutions is going to kneecap the development of young scientists.”
Asked if the protest would bring change, he paused.
“I’m pretty much preaching to the choir in Boulder,” he said. “But people should come out and make their voices heard.”
I was there. I thought there was 1000-2000 people there. This is my seventh protest this year, so I am getting pretty good at estimates.
I was unable to find any information online about where a May Day protest was going to be happening in Boulder.
I found plenty of details for the protests in Loveland, Fort Collins and Denver. Providing pertinent information BEFORE the protests would result in more local participants. We need to keep this going and growing! Resist!
Is there a way to find out about when and where the anti-DOGE protests are? We would have gone but didn’t know about it. Thanks!
Merrill and Leslie
mglustrom@outlook.com
Look for 50501 and/or Indivisible on internet.