Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
‘May Day Strong’ comes to Boston Friday: What it is and where protests are planned
Organizers are calling for a nationwide day of “no work, no school, no shopping." Do you plan to join?
May Day has long been tied to labor movements around the world. This year, organizers across the U.S. are using the date to call for a one-day show of economic power.
Under the banner of “May Day Strong,” activists, unions, educators, students, and community groups are calling for “no work, no school, no shopping” on Friday, May 1. Rallies, marches, teach-ins, walkouts, and other events are also planned across the country.
The movement is being promoted around the slogan “workers over billionaires.” Organizers say the goal is to disrupt business as usual and protest a political and economic system they argue favors the wealthy over working people.
What is ‘May Day Strong’ on Friday, May 1?
May Day Strong is a national day of action backed by a coalition of labor unions, education groups, pro-democracy organizations, immigrant rights groups, climate groups, and local activist networks.
Advertisement:
Organizers are expecting more than 3,500 actions nationwide, ranging from street protests to walkouts, according to The Guardian.
On its website, May Day Strong lists three central demands: “Tax the rich,” “No ICE. No war,” and “Expand democracy, not corporate power.”
The National Education Association’s May Day toolkit says groups are calling to protect Medicaid, Social Security, public schools, health care, and housing, while also opposing policies targeting immigrants, people of color, Native people, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ communities.
Why May 1?
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, traces back to the 1880s labor movement in Chicago and the fight for an eight-hour workday. While the day is widely recognized in other countries, it is not an official U.S. holiday.
Advertisement:
For organizers, that history is part of the point. They say May 1 is a reminder that workers, students, families, and consumers have power when they act together.
What’s the Massachusetts connection?
In Massachusetts, federal lawmakers are advancing new proposals aimed at taxing extreme wealth and high income earners.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren last month introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2026, which would impose a 2% annual tax on household net worth above $50 million, rising to 3% tax on net worth that exceeds $1 billion. The proposal, which would apply to households and certain trusts, is estimated to generate about $6.17 trillion over a decade.
Separately, Sen. Ed Markey put forward the Equal Tax Act, aimed at equalizing tax rates across income types for individuals earning more than $1 million annually. The measure targets disparities that allow investment income to be taxed at lower rates than wages.
Meanwhile, a number of Massachusetts-based groups have endorsed the shutdown, according to the May Day Strong website. Local supporters include Boston Democratic Socialists of America, First Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts Teachers Association, and Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation, among many others.
Where ‘May Day Strong’ protests are happening around Greater Boston
The May Day Strong website lists several Boston-area events, including campus actions, labor rallies, standouts, and a main Boston Common rally.
- Bedford: 10 a.m. – noon; First Parish in Bedford Public Witness May Day Event; First Parish in Bedford, 75 Great Rd.
- Belmont: 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.; Belmont May Day Walk-Out; 221 Concord Ave.
- Billerica: 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.; Billerica May Day 2026: Workers Over Billionaires; 15 Concord Rd., Billerica Common.
- Braintree: 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.; Braintree, MA May Day 2026 – Walk-In; Braintree Public Schools, 128 Town St.
- Boston: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.; MassArt May Day 2026; MassArt, 621 Huntington Ave.
- Boston: 11 a.m – 1 p.m.; May Day Kick Off Rally; East Boston Memorial Park, 143 Porter St.
- Boston: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.; Simmons University March for a Fair Contract; 300 Fenway.
- Boston: 2:30 p.m.; LUCE Rally for Immigrant Justice; by the Massachusetts State House.
- Boston: 3:30 p.m.; Boston Teachers Union Budget Action; City Hall.
- Boston: 4 p.m.; Young Workers Speak Out; The Embrace on Boston Common.
- Boston: 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Boston May Day 2026 main rally; Boston Common, 139 Tremont St.
- Brookline: 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Brookline May Day 2026: Stand-Out; Coolidge Corner.
- Cambridge: 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.; Somerville Educators Union May Day 2026; 1899 Massachusetts Ave.
- Cambridge: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.; Cambridge May Day 2026 Rally; Kendall Square T stop, 355 Main St.
- Cambridge: 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.; Cambridge Visibility Brigade May Day Standout; Joan Lorentz Park, near Broadway and Ellery Street.
- Cambridge: 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.; Resistance Songs Singalong; Dana Square Park, 70 Magazine St.
- Concord: 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.; Concord, MA May Day 2026: Workers Over Billionaires; Monument Square.
- Framingham: noon – 1 p.m.; Framingham, MA May Day 2026: Stand-Out; virtual event.
- Hingham: 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.; Hingham, MA May Day 2026: Workers Over Billionaires; Hingham Harbor, Otis Street.
- Lowell: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.; UMass Lowell May Day 2026 – “Stronger Together: Unions at UML” Workshop; UMass Lowell Alumni Hall, 84 University Ave.
- Lowell: 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.; Lowell MA, May Day 2026: Workers Over Billionaires; Ladd and Whitney Monument, in front of Lowell City Hall, 309 Merrimack St.
- Lynn: 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.; North Shore May Day 2026; Lynn City Hall, 3 City Hall Square.
- Maynard: 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.; May Day Standout and Workers Over Billionaires; Veterans Memorial Park, Summer Street.
- Medford: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Students Rise Up on May Day: Tufts University; Tufts University Quad, 419 Boston Ave.
- Medford: 4 p.m. – 2 p.m.; Medford May Day 2026: Workers Over Billionaires; Clippership Dr. Popup Park, 75 Riverside Ave.
- Salem: 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; MAYDAY STRONG! Friday, May 1: Standout Rally with Special Candlelighting Ceremony; Riley Plaza, 1-21 Margin St.
- Scituate: 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.; Scituate, MA May Day 2026: Workers Over Billionaires; 7 New Driftway.
- Waltham: 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Waltham May Day 2026; Waltham Common, Main Street and Moody Street.
- Wellesley: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.; Students Rise Up on May Day: Wellesley College, Massachusetts; Wellesley College, 106 Central St.
- Wellesley: 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.; Wellesley May Day 2026: Workers Over Billionaires; Wellesley Town Green, 525 Washington St.
We want to hear from you
Do you plan to participate in “May Day Strong” on Friday, May 1?
Advertisement:
Will you skip work, school, shopping, or errands? Will you attend a rally? Or do you plan to go about your day as usual?
Tell us in the form below or e-mail us at [email protected]. Your response may be featured in an upcoming Boston.com article.
Be civil. Be kind.
Read our full community guidelines.To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address