Slideshow: May Day brings out 'Occupy' protests and other rallies around the world

May Day protests may disrupt the morning commute in major U.S. cities Tuesday as labor, immigration and Occupy activists rally support on the international workers' holiday.

Demonstrations, strikes and acts of civil disobedience are being planned around the country, including the most visible organizing effort by anti-Wall Street groups since Occupy encampments came down in the fall.

While protesters are backing away from a call to block San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, bridge district ferry workers said they'll strike Tuesday morning to shut down ferry service, which brings commuters from Marin County to the city. Ferry workers have been in contract negotiations for a year and have been working without a contract since July 2011 in a dispute over health care coverage, the Inlandboatmen's Union said.

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A coalition of bridge and bus workers said they will honor the picket line, which may target an area near the bridge's toll plaza. Occupy activists from San Francisco and Oakland are expected to join the rally.

"We ask supporters to stand with us at strike picket lines on May Day and to keep the bridge open," said Alex Tonisson, an organizer and co-chair of the Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition.

Police say they are working with other area law enforcement agencies and have a plan in place for potential disruptions. They would not discuss specifics.

Across the bay in Oakland, where police and Occupy protesters have often clashed, officers are preparing for a long day as hundreds of "General Strike" signs have sprouted across town.

In New York City, where the first Occupy camp was set up and where large protests brought some of the earliest attention — and mass arrests — to the movement, leaders plan a variety of events, including picketing, a march through Manhattan and other "creative disruptions against the corporations who rule our city."

Organizers have called for protesters to block one or more bridges or tunnels connecting Manhattan, the city's economic engine, to New Jersey and other parts of the city.

The Occupy movement began in September with a small camp in a lower Manhattan plaza that quickly grew to include hundreds of protesters using the tent city as their home base. More than 700 people were arrested Oct. 1 as they tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge.

The city broke the camp up in November, citing sanitary and other concerns, but the movement has held smaller events and protests periodically since then.

Elsewhere on the West Coast, Occupy Seattle has called for people to rally at a park near downtown Tuesday. Mayor Mike McGinn has warned residents there could be traffic delays and has said city officials have evidence — including graffiti and posters — that some groups plan to "commit violence, damage property and disrupt peaceful free speech activity."

In Los Angeles, demonstrators are planning to take to the streets to champion immigrant rights.

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Several dozen protesters who gained access to the annual shareholder meeting of General Electric in Detroit disrupted the start with chanting Wednesday morning before being removed by security. Meanwhile, hundreds more protesters gathered outside.

The protest — coming a day after a similar one at Wells Fargo's shareholder meeting in San Francisco — illustrated one of the new strategies taken by the Occupy movement and its offshoots. The Occupy movement, which set up large encampments in public spaces in cities around the country in 2011, was largely forced to leave those sites in the fall and winter. Many of the same activists are taking part in other types of civil disobedience and protests against what they consider corporate greed, money-driven politics and social inequity.

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The protesters in Detroit began shouting "pay your fair share" just after GE CEO Jeff Immelt began speaking, reported NBC affiliate WDIV in Detroit.

The chant refers to the belief that unfair tax breaks had allowed GE to avoid paying the government billions of dollars.

A 2011 report by Citizens for Tax Justice, a left-leaning think tank, maintains that GE had an effective negative tax rate from 2008 through 2010, which the company has repeatedly denied.

After the protesters were removed, Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin defended GE's tax practices, Reuters reported.

"We absolutely are compliant with every law around the world in how we pay our taxes," Sherin said, according to the Reuters report. "Our U.S. tax expense last year was $2.6 billion. We are a large taxpayer, we pay our taxes and we very much support tax reform."

Immelt resumed his address with these words, according to the Detroit Free Press:

"We're happy we brought jobs here.... we are proud to be in Detroit this morning," he said. A spokesman for GE told the Free Press that the protesters must have been shareholders or they would not have been able to pass through security checks to enter the meeting.

Reports varied on the number of protesters in the meeting. Reuters reported there were nearly 100 who gained entrance while others put the number at 50 or fewer.

One activist who said she gained entrance to the shareholder meeting by buying one share of GE stock was Shyquetta McElroy, who drove six hours to Detroit with nine other protesters from Milwaukee.

McElroy said she was not connected to any organization, and did not take part in the Occupy movement but told msnbc.com she was part of the "99 percent."

"Basically (we are) citizens who are mistreated by corporations, by which I mean corporations moving jobs overseas, not paying taxes ...  just so they can get richer." She said such practices were partly to blame for painful cuts in programs from schools to health care.

At a similar protest of the Wells Fargo shareholder meeting on Tuesday, dozens of activists gained access to the meeting by purchasing one share each. About a dozen who protested inside that meeting were removed, and six protesters in the crowd outside were arrested.

Around the country, similar protests are planned to target major banks and other companies, an idea that has been under discussion for months among Occupy movement activists.

"Clearly this is a major project," said Todd Gitlin, professor of sociology and journalism at Columbia University. Gitlin has written a soon-to-be published book about the Occupy Movement and says the idea of protest inside shareholder meetings has been envisioned for months within that movement. "This is one direction for the occupy movement."

Occupy groups have also combined forces with housing advocates and others to prevent foreclosures and agitate for banks to change lending and foreclosure policies.

A new group called 99% Power, which describes itself as a "coalition of workers and retirees, families fighting foreclosure and the unemployed, students, immigrants and environmentalists," said on its web site that it plans actions at dozens more shareholder meetings in the coming weeks. Other companies on their list include Verizon, Bank of America, Sallie Mae and Wal-Mart.

The organization casts itself as representing the interests of the vast majority of Americans, versus the wealthiest 1 percent.

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Up to 30 people were pepper-sprayed by police after students tried to storm a Santa Monica College trustee board meeting in protest over proposed higher course fees.

A handful of protesters suffered minor injuries as campus police tried to prevent dozens of students chanting, "Let us in, let us in" and "No cuts, no fees, education should be free," from disrupting the meeting during a public comment period, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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Capt. Judah Mitchell of the Santa Monica Fire Department told NBC News that up to 30 people had been sprayed, five of whom sought treatment for the effects of the spray and were transported to nearby hospitals.

Priscillia Omon, 21, claimed a police officer fired the spray into the mouths and eyes of people standing arm's length away, NBC Los Angeles reported. She said a family, including a 4 year old, were in the crowd when the officer used the pepper spray.

PhotoBlog: Cops pepper-spray 30 as Santa Monica students protest fees

"They were trying to silence our voices by not allowing students access to this supposedly open forum," Omon told the station.

However, Mitchell said a mother and young child were not among those treated for the effects of pepper spray.

'Students care about their education'
The meeting was slated to discuss a controversial tiered payment program, which has drawn the ire of students and professors claiming that the plan would make in-demand summer classes -- such as English, math, history and biology -- more expensive.

NBC Los Angeles said some courses would rise from $46 per unit to $180 during the summer session, meaning a high-demand 3-unit course would cost about $540.

"The students wanted to be heard and we wanted to be in the room where we could fairly discuss this topic, and be seen by them," said Aura Chavez, 18, who was standing in the back of the crowd when the pepper spray incident happened. "We wanted to let them see how many students care about their education."

Bruce Smith, spokesman for Santa Monica College, said the school had set up an overflow room with an audio visual feed so students could take part in the meeting, but a fairly large group of students showed up in the corridor and demanded to go into the meeting room.

He added that the college and Santa Monica College Police Department will be investigating the incident.

Samantha Tata and Robert Kovacik of NBC Los Angeles and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

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BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- A 93-year-old anti-nuclear activist was among more than 130 protesters arrested at the corporate headquarters of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant Thursday, the first day of the plant's operation after the expiration of its 40-year license.

Frances Crowe, of Northampton, Mass., said she wants Vermont Yankee to cease operations because she feels it's a threat to the people who live nearby.

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"As I was walking down, all I could think of was Fukushima and the suffering of all the people, and I don't want that to happen to New England," said Crowe in referring to the Japanese nuclear reactor damaged last year after an earthquake and tsunami.

Fukushima disaster response frighteningly similar to Chernobyl

When asked how many times she'd been arrested, she answered: "Not enough."

A heavy police presence and ropes blocked off access to the offices in Brattleboro. The arrests were made calmly and without any confrontation, with obvious signs that protesters and police had worked out the logistics beforehand.

Unlawful trespass
Brattleboro Police Chief Gene Wrinn said in a statement that more than 130 people had been arrested for unlawful trespass. He said after being processed, they were later released.

The Brattleboro Reformer reported that Thursday's protest was the largest in Vermont in 25 years.

A company spokesman said work continued as normal at the plant 10 miles south in Vernon.

"We greatly appreciate the backing of our supporters and respect the rights of opponents to peacefully protest," said a statement issued by company spokesman Larry Smith. "Inside the gates, our employees will not be distracted. As it is every day, their focus on safety will be laser sharp."

'Shut it down'
A crowd estimated at more than 1,000 gathered in a downtown Brattleboro park before they marched the 3 ½ miles to the headquarters. Some marched on stilts. Others with painted faces carried signs that read "hell no, we won't glow." Many chanted: "Shut it down."

Gov. Peter Shumlin was sympathetic to the protesters.

"I am very supportive of the peaceful protesters gathered today in Brattleboro to express their — and my — frustration that this aging plant remains open after its agreed-upon license has expired," he said.

In a coordinated action in New Orleans, the headquarters of Vermont Yankee's parent company, Entergy Nuclear, another group of seven activists was arrested after going into the building and refusing to leave, police said. The Journal News reported that five others also were arrested at Entergy offices in White Plains, N.Y.

Loyola University law professor Bill Quigley said the New Orleans protesters live near the Vermont plant and traveled to Louisiana to request a meeting with Entergy CEO J. Wayne Leonard. They didn't get that meeting before they were arrested.

"We're trying to tell Entergy that the whole world is watching, and you can't pollute in one area of the country without consequences for everybody," Quigley said.

Radioactive tritium leaks from 48 US nuke sites

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued the plant a 20-year license extension, but the state of Vermont wants the plant to close and the two sides are fighting a legal battle. In January, a federal judge issued an order that allows the plant to continue operating while the legal case continues in court.

Handcuffed
While the protesters gathered on the Brattleboro Commons, Vermont Yankee supporters sat across the street and watched. A half-dozen signs saying "VT4VY" were posted on the lawn.

"The thing is these people are not going to realize it until it's too late what a benefit it is down there. I feel bad for them. I don't think they're looking at the big picture," said Steve Shaclumis of Brattleboro.

Some protesters, including Crowe, were released immediately with citations to appear in court. Others were handcuffed and led onto a waiting school bus. It was expected they would be taken to a police station and then released.

According to The New York Times, the cost of decommissioning a single reactor is estimated at $400 million to $1 billion.

The newspaper reported on Tuesday that Entergy "is at least $90 million short of the projected $560 million cost of dismantling Vermont Yankee."

The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A day of boisterous protests over cuts to higher education that included thousands of students swarming the state Capitol ended with dozens of arrests after demonstrators refused to leave the building.

Authorities on Monday evening arrested 68 people, most of whom will be charged with trespassing, the California Highway Patrol said. Four people were arrested earlier in the day.

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Police started pulling out protesters who remained in the Capitol rotunda around 7:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. ET), more than an hour after they began warning them with a bullhorn to leave. 

NBC Sacramento reported that some protesters identified themselves as being part of the Occupy Sacramento group.

Protesters chanted "We're doing this for your kids," as one by one they were lifted by the arms, handcuffed with plastic ties, and led away.

Students angry over steep tuition increases and fewer courses at California's public universities and colleges waved signs and chanted, "They say cut back; we say fight back."

Tuition has nearly doubled in the past five years, to $13,000 for resident undergraduates at University of California schools and to $6,400 at California State University schools. Community college fees are set to rise to $46 per unit by this summer, up from $20 per unit in 2007.

Democratic lawmakers addressed the group and lamented the deep cuts to higher education they have made in recent years.

"We were expecting to have a good future, but things are looking uncertain for a lot of families," said Alison Her, 19, a nursing student at California State University, Fresno. "I'm the oldest in my family, and I want my siblings to be able to go to college, too."

Public schools 'eroded year after year'
After the rally, hundreds of students lined up to enter the Capitol and filled conference rooms and hallways inside. Some met with lawmakers to lobby for increased funding for higher education, while others headed for the rotunda.

CHP officers allowed several hundred students to settle on the black and white marble floor of the rotunda before all four hallway entrances to the area were blocked. Another hundred students sat down in a hallway, communicating with fellow protesters by call and response, in a manner characteristic of the Occupy movement, The Daily Californian reported.

Several lawmakers watched from a second-floor balcony as the protesters were later arrested.

Outside the Capitol, hundreds of protesters who had lingered into the evening disbursed after the arrested protesters were taken away in vans. Officers in riot gear guarded the underground exits where they were taken out.

Earlier in the day, three women were arrested for disobeying an officer's order after trying to unfurl a banner on the second floor. A man was arrested outside the building for being in possession of a switchblade knife, the CHP said.

Gov. Jerry Brown said in a statement that the protest highlights the need for California voters to approve a tax increase he has proposed for the November ballot.

"The students today are reflecting the frustrations of millions of Californians who have seen their public schools and universities eroded year after year," said Brown, a Democrat. "That's why it's imperative that we get more tax revenue this November."

Brown's initiative would fund education and public safety programs by temporarily raising income taxes on people who make more than $250,000 a year and temporarily increasing the sales tax by half a cent.

The University of California Student Association has endorsed a rival initiative that would tax millionaires and earmark the revenue for education. The California Federation of Teachers and state PTA support that initiative.

Buses brought hundreds of students in for Monday's march from as far away as the University of California, Riverside, 450 miles south of Sacramento.

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Three Occupy Oakland protesters accused of surrounding and taunting a woman before stealing her wallet were charged on Friday with robbery and hate crimes, authorities said.

Michael Davis, 32, Nneka Crawford, 23, and Randolph Wilkins, 24, confronted the woman on the streets of Oakland in February after she told them not to riot, the Oakland Police said in a written release.

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According to a report by NBC Bay Area, police said the woman was crossing the street from a Wells Fargo bank when she noticed a group of Occupy protesters calling for a riot. She allegedly told them not to riot in her neighborhood and was then surrounded.

"She was surrounded by three protesters and battered as they yelled vulgar epithets regarding their perception of her sexual orientation," Oakland Police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said.

The female victim was not identified except as a 20-year resident of the neighborhood.

Occupy Oakland: 400 arrested after violent protest

"Her wallet was taken during the crime," Watson said. "The victim broke away from the group and called police, who were able to arrest one suspect near the scene."

Watson said the other two suspects were arrested at a February 29 Occupy Oakland protest.

Each was charged by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office with felony counts of robbery and hate crimes, Watson said.

An Occupy Oakland organizer could not be reached for comment on Friday evening.

PhotoBlog: Occupy protesters target downtown Oakland bank branches

A rallying cry of the movement has been that 1 percent of the population has too much of the nation's wealth and the remaining 99 percent is disadvantaged.

It has lost momentum in recent months after police cleared encampments in New York, Oakland and other major cities.

NBC Bay Area said police were asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Major Crimes Section at the Oakland Police Department.

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SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – About 100 students blocked the entrance to the University of California, Santa Cruz on Thursday as part of statewide demonstrations against budget cuts to higher education.

At one point, a man drove a Ford Mustang through the crowd, striking several people, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported. No serious injuries were reported.

Abby Edwards, 20, told the Sentinel the car knocked her to the ground. “Suddenly I’m on the hood and then on the ground,” she told the newspaper.

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However, a passenger in the car told the Sentinel that the vehicle was going less than 1 mph when “the mob swarmed over our car, attempted to open the doors and windows, kicked our lights in and threw paint all over the car.” The driver and passenger were detained for questioning.

Read more in Santa Cruz Sentinel

UC Santa Cruz officials had anticipated Thursday’s protest and many classes were either canceled or postponed, minimizing the impact of the blockade.

College students at about 30 campuses across the state were holding rallies to support more financial support for the state’s colleges and universities.

In southern California,  students walked out of classes at San Diego City College. "Walk out, walk out, walk out for your education,” they chanted, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The UC system and the state university system each endured $750 million budget cuts this academic year, the Union-Tribune reported.

UC tuition has risen from $10,302 at the start of the 2010-11 school year to $12,192, the Union-Tribune reported. At CSU, it has risen from 4,230 to $5,472 over the same time period. Community college tuition has risen from $26 a unit to $36 a unit. It will rise to $46 a unit next fall.

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Story updated 12:30 p.m. ET:

Oakland officials on Sunday were inspecting damage inside City Hall that was caused by about 50 Occupy protesters who broke in and smashed glass display cases, spray-painted graffiti, and burned the U.S. and California flags.

The break-in on Saturday was the culmination of a day of clashes between protesters and police. At least 300 people were arrested on charges ranging from vandalism and failure to disperse.

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At least three officers and one protester were injured.

Mayor Jean Quan said Occupy protesters have caused an estimated $2 million in damages from vandalism since October. She said the cost to the city related to the Occupy Oakland protests is pegged at about $5 million.

The scene around City Hall was mostly quiet Sunday morning. It was unclear whether protesters would mount another large-scale demonstration later in the day.

Story updated 6:00 a.m. ET:

A U.S. flag was burned by a group of protestors inside City Hall, according to City Council President Larry Reid. City officials also said three police officers and one protester were injured during Saturday's events.

Story updated 3:15 a.m. ET:

Sgt. Christopher Bolton of the Oakland Police Department told msnbc.com that the number arrested was likely between 200 and 300. "We are still processing the arrests," he said. He was speaking after the release of a statement on the Oakland City website that put the number of arrests at 200. "That figure is probably on the low side and we don't have a confirmed total yet," said. Sgt Bolton. In the statement, released in a PDF file format, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said: "Once again, a violent splinter group of the Occupy Movement is engaging in violent actions against Oakland. The Bay Area Occupy Movement has got to stop using Oakland as their playground." The statement also said there were reports of damage to exhibits inside City Hall during the protest.

Story published 1:30 a.m.:

Police arrested about 300 people Saturday as Occupy Oakland protesters were thwarted trying to take over a vacant convention center and enter a YMCA. Protesters later broke into City Hall, where they burned a flag taken from inside.

Police used tear gas and "flash" grenades in the afternoon against 2,000 protesters who tried to tear down fences around the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center, where they hoped to establish a new camp. Police said some demonstrators started throwing objects at officers. There were at least 19 arrests in the afternoon.

After 6 p.m. (9 p.m. ET), police in riot gear declared a group of protesters gathered near the YMCA under mass arrest for failing to disperse, according to local media reports and livestreams. Police said about 100 demonstrators were arrested at the YMCA.

Several protesters at  the YMCA appeared to be put hard to the ground as police moved in and at least one protester had blood on his face.

Protesters chanted, "Let us disperse," but instead were taken one by one for police processing.

Some protesters claimed they were trying to flee police by running through the YMCA rather than take over the building.

Later in the evening, about 100 police officers surrounded City Hall while others swept the inside of the building.

Police arrived after protesters had broken into City Hall, stole an American flag from the council chamber and set it ablaze, the Oakland Tribune reported. Officers stomped out the fire.

Earlier, protesters met at Frank Ogawa Plaza around noon and marched toward the convention center in hopes of making it their new meeting place and social center, NBCBayArea.com reported.

Read NBCBayArea.com coverage of the protest

Oakland officials said about 250 people were in the group when the protest started but the crowd grew to about 2,000.

Earlier during the rally one of the organizers, Shake Anderson, said, "We are here to protect each other and to be civil disobedient. ... We're doing it to change the world, not just today but every day."

The protesters were walking through Laney College around 2:30 p.m. Some people were wearing bandanas over their mouths and others were holding signs saying, "We are the 99%." A marching band dressed in pink and black tutus and neon pick tights also was in the crowd.

Officer Jeff Thomason said police started making arrests when some in the crowd started throwing objects at them during the afternoon rally. Three officers were injured, police said, but did not elaborate.

@OaklandPoliceCA tweeted around 3 p.m., "Area of Oakland Museum and Kaiser Center severely impacted. Persons cutting and tearing fences for entry. Bottles and objects thrown at OPD."

Once they reached the center, organizers planned to kick off a two-day "Oakland Rise-up Festival" to celebrate the establishment of the movement's new space.

Occupy Oakland spokesman Leo Ritz-Bar said the action would signal "a new direction for the Occupy movement: putting vacant buildings at the service of the community."

He also warned that protesters could retaliate against any repressive police action by blocking the Oakland International Airport, occupying City Hall or shutting down the Port of Oakland.

City officials said that while they are "committed to facilitating peaceful forms of expression and free speech, police would be prepared to arrest those who break the law.

"The city of Oakland will not be bullied by threats of violence or illegal activity," city administrator Deanna Santana said in a statement issued Friday.

This article includes reporting from NBCBayArea.com, The Associated Press and msnbc.com's Miranda Leitsinger and Alastair Jamieson.

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Hundreds of protesters gathered on a grassy knoll in front of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday for an Occupy Congress protest, bringing the nationwide protest movement to the steps of the country's legislative branch.

Under cloudy skies and occasional drizzle, protesters held “mic checks” to announce where they had journeyed from to join the protest. Many wore yellow index cards stating: "This space is occupied."

In the early hours of the event there were a few scuffles between protesters and police, and one man was taken away by police for reasons that were unclear. Also some protesters tore down green mesh netting lining a wall on the lawn.

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The numbers of people had not yet reached the thousands expected by demonstrators who helped organize the event, though many of the larger events -- such as a march by the three branches of government -- were scheduled for later in the day.

 

Some of the protesters attended planned meetings with their lawmakers to talk about their grievances, including a group from Greensboro, N.C., that met with Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan's staff in her office.

"To be in a participatory democracy is very exciting,” said one of them, Cynthia Maddox, who also was streaming video of the group’s activities. “To feel like I'm being heard, and that all of us are being heard, I think it's given people voices that haven't had a voice for a long time. And that's where the frustration comes from ... not being heard."

Click here for previous post on the protest: Occupy Congress: Will it be politics as unusual?