A coalition of labour unions and progressive groups is organising 'May Day Strong', a nationwide day of protest on 1 May 2026 against the policies of the Trump administration. Organisers are calling on Americans to refrain from work, school and shopping, and to join rallies, marches and teach-ins across the country.
The action is inspired by the mass protest that shut down Minneapolis in January, which demanded an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. Neidi Dominguez, executive director of Organized Power in Numbers and a member of the May Day Strong executive team, said: 'The labour movement in our country cannot advance while ignoring the assault on democracy. And the pro-democracy movement can’t ask working people to defend abstract principles while they can’t afford housing, paying bills or accessing healthcare.'
Organisers expect more than 3,500 actions, including street protests and walkouts, under demands such as 'workers over billionaires, taxing the rich, demanding ICE out, money for people not wars, and expanding democracy'. The coalition includes unions like the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the National Education Association (NEA), as well as Democratic Socialists of America chapters, Indivisible, and groups focused on labour, racial justice, anti-war, pro-democracy, climate justice, immigrant rights and reproductive justice.
While some have called the event a general strike, organisers clarify it is not a full general strike, which would require paralysing multiple major industries. Eric Blanc, assistant professor of labour studies at Rutgers University, noted that a true general strike has not occurred in the US since the 1946 Taft-Hartley Act effectively outlawed such actions. However, the United Auto Workers have set a target of 2028 for a general strike, and May Day Strong is seen as a step towards building that capacity.
Participants can find local actions via a searchable map on the May Day Strong website, or sign a pledge to receive updates. The coalition aims to demonstrate the power of collective action by disrupting business as usual, with Dominguez stating: 'There’s more of us than there are of them. We just have to organise ourselves together.'
