Cities across the country are anticipating crowds taking to the streets on Friday as part of a coordinated day of nationwide protests to call for more worker-friendly policies.
Organizers behind the events, titled May Day Strong, have asked participants to abstain from work, school and shopping, and to join demonstrations urging the country to prioritize “workers over billionaires.” Large-scale events were planned for dozens of cities including New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
The activist groups behind Friday’s planned demonstrations overlap considerably with those that organized the earlier ‘‘No Kings’’ protests that have taken place periodically since the start of the second Trump administration. Those demonstrations have drawn crowds across the country to denounce President Trump’s actions — including his aggressive mass deportation campaign and the war in Iran — as examples of authoritarian overreach.
The coalition behind the May Day Strong events also includes a long list of labor groups and dozens of chapters of the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America.
The demonstrations on Friday will continue to decry the war and the immigration crackdown, according to the organizers’ website. But organizers say they will also feature a call for raising taxes on the rich and for protecting democracy from corporate influence.
Friday is International Workers’ Day, a date that many countries around the world have set aside to celebrate labor and that has traditionally served as a day of action for the organized labor movement.
The United States celebrates its own Labor Day on the first Monday of September. But May Day has retained significance in the country as a day of protest for labor unions and activist groups.
Chris Hippensteel is a reporter covering breaking news and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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