On May 1, tens of thousands of Americans are expected to flood the streets in over 1,100 rallies across the country, joining a coordinated national day of action on International Workers’ Day. The protests are directed squarely at former President Donald Trump and what organizers describe as his administration’s sweeping assault on working people, immigrants, and public institutions.
“This May Day we are standing united. We are demanding a country that puts our families over their fortunes—public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, prosperity over free market politics,” reads organizing material distributed by the coalition leading the demonstrations. “Stop the billionaire takeover. We are the many. They are the few.”
May Day, celebrated globally as International Labor Day, has long been a platform for workers to demand fair treatment and better working conditions. This year’s events in the United States are charged with renewed energy as organizers build on the momentum of recent mass demonstrations, including the “Hands Off!” rallies on April 5, which reportedly drew one million participants nationwide, according to Democracy Now!.
In Philadelphia, Senator Bernie Sanders will speak alongside the city’s AFL-CIO chapter at a rally held at City Hall under the banner “For the Workers, Not the Billionaires.” The event is one of many stops in Sanders’ ongoing “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, which he and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have used to mobilize thousands in Republican-held districts in Nebraska, Iowa, Idaho, and elsewhere.
The May Day protests are being organized by nearly 200 partner groups, including unions, grassroots organizations, climate justice groups, and digital communities like 50501—a decentralized movement that began on Reddit and has since helped orchestrate rallies around the country. Local and state-level 50501 groups are also participating in the May Day actions, having played a significant role in recent demonstrations held on February 19 and April 19.
Organizers say the demonstrations are a direct response to policies enacted under the Trump administration and supported by what they call a class of “billionaire profiteers.” Protesters cite mass dismissals of federal workers, aggressive immigration enforcement, the privatization of public services, and efforts to dismantle union power as key areas of concern. The administration’s use of tariffs and its connections to corporate figures like Elon Musk—who has become symbolic in activist circles of corporate overreach and anti-labor sentiment—have also been called out.
“This is a war on working people,” organizers declared on the May Day Strong events web page. “They’re defunding our schools, privatizing public services, attacking unions, and targeting immigrant families with fear and violence. We are reclaiming our power from corporate elites, and we will not be intimidated by Trump, Musk, or their billionaire backers. They’ve ruled for too long.”
Coinciding with the nationwide street protests, advocacy groups Free Speech for People and Citizens’ Impeachment are launching their own May Day initiative aimed at increasing pressure on Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against Trump. The groups are organizing a coordinated outreach campaign to flood congressional offices with calls and emails demanding action.
“We cannot allow Trump and his allies to destroy our republic,” Free Speech for People stated in a post on X.
Although May Day is globally recognized as a day to honor workers’ rights, the United States does not officially observe the holiday. Instead, U.S. presidents have historically attempted to redefine the day’s meaning. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 as “Law Day” to honor the rule of law, while President Donald Trump echoed this tactic by declaring it “Loyalty Day” to celebrate “loyalty to individual liberties.”
The roots of May Day in the U.S. date back to the labor movement of the late 19th century, when workers began organizing for an eight-hour workday. On May 1, 1886, a nationwide strike was held by the organization that would become the American Federation of Labor. The protest reached a tragic climax in Chicago with the Haymarket Affair, where a bomb explosion during a clash between police and protesters led to the deaths of several individuals. Although the origin of the bomb remains unclear, four labor activists were hanged for conspiracy and became known as the Haymarket Martyrs.
Another pivotal event in the history of May Day was the Pullman Strike of 1894, when thousands of railroad workers walked off the job in protest of wage cuts and high rents in company-owned housing. The strike was met with federal military intervention ordered by President Grover Cleveland, resulting in multiple deaths and further solidifying the tensions between labor and the federal government.
Despite efforts to suppress the day’s radical origins, May Day has remained a rallying point for U.S. labor movements and immigrant rights organizations. Notable recent examples include the massive 2006 immigration rights protests that drew more than two million people in over 140 cities in response to proposed legislation that would have increased penalties for undocumented immigrants.
Labor historians suggest that this year’s May Day actions could mark a significant moment in U.S. protest history. “These are going to be protests that bring out a broader array of people and a broader array of places, and I think that’s going to be historic, at least for that reason,” said Joseph McCartin, a professor of labor history at Georgetown University.
While the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from media outlets covering the May Day actions, activists and scholars alike view the mass mobilization as a crucial test of how far grassroots resistance can reach in an era defined by widening economic inequality and intensifying political division.
As protesters take to the streets on May Day, their message is clear: they are demanding a political and economic system that prioritizes people over profit, solidarity over suppression, and democracy over oligarchy.
To join the national day of action, visit May Day Strong.
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