On Friday, cities nationwide are bracing for a wave of demonstrations as activists and protesters prepare to gather for May Day rallies. These events are fueled by a resonant cry for economic justice, encapsulated in the slogan “Workers Over Billionaires.” Participants are set to boycott work, school, and shopping in a show of solidarity and protest.

Nearly 500 organizations have rallied together to orchestrate more than 750 events, with approximately 200 taking place in the digital realm. Major metropolitan areas such as New York, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Chicago, and Los Angeles will serve as focal points for these demonstrations.

According to May Day Strong, the primary organizer of these activities, “On May 1, 2026, workers, students, and families will rally, march, and take action across the country to demand a nation that prioritizes workers over billionaires. Many will challenge the status quo through the mantra of No School. No Work. No Shopping.”

The nationwide protests and boycotts echo a historic tradition of labor activism, harking back to the 19th-century battles for workers’ rights, famously symbolized by May Day. This day has long been associated with the struggle for labor rights, and the upcoming events are a continuation of that legacy.

May Day’s origins are deeply rooted in the late 1800s when movements led by Marxists, socialists, and labor unions initiated a day of strikes in Paris. It later gained prominence as a national holiday in the Soviet Union following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

The inaugural May Day protest took place in 1886, with Chicago emerging as a central hub. During that time, hundreds of thousands of union members, socialists, anarchists, and reformers took to the streets, advocating for the establishment of the eight-hour workday—an enduring symbol of labor rights that continues to inspire today’s demonstrations.

Several days later, the protests turned deadly. 

On May 3, 1886, violent agitators at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company clashed with police, who opened fire on the crowd, killing at least two, according to reports.

Illustration depicting the Anarchist (Haymarket) Riot on May 4th, 1886 in Chicago. Shows a bomb exploding among the police. (Colored wood engraving by T. de Thulstrup after H. Jeanneret.)

The following day at Haymarket Square in Chicago, an unknown agitator threw a bomb at police, killing one officer instantly and leading to a violent battle that killed several more law enforcement officers and protesters. 

The riot became known as the “Haymaker Affair,” and the events led to the executions and hangings of the Haymarket Martyrs, a trial which is still debated over injustice and controversy today. 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has already endorsed the events taking place this Friday, saying that “meaningful solidarity and community resistance” are cornerstones of the historic demonstration.

Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions during a news conference at Chicago City Hall on Feb. 25, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service)

“Encouraging participation allows Chicagoans to honor our history while advocating for our future,” Johnson said. “We look forward to a day of meaningful solidarity and community resistance to the forces trying to tear us apart.”

“The history of May Day in America is rooted in Chicago,” Johnson added. “It was in our city that workers organized around the simple demand of an eight-hour workday and raised the consciousness of a gilded nation through the Haymarket Strike.” 

With the central theme surrounding the American worker against the billionaire class, economists are skeptical that a single-day boycott has any impact at all on large companies and the so-called elite.

Protestors arrive in front of the White House on June 22, 2025, to demonstrate support for the Islamic Republic of Iran amid U.S.-Iran tensions. (Asra Nomani/Fox News Digital)

“If you’re talking about [non-perishable activities], like going to the movies, you’ll go see the same movie on Saturday,” University of Maryland Economics Professor Emeritus and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission Peter Morici told Fox News Digital. 

Morici noted that if consumers boycott purchases for a single day, they will purchase the same products and shop at the same venues regardless of a one-day strike.

“Somebody will go to store B instead of store A,” Morici explained. “All this is a bad storm and a way for the left wing getting everybody riled up.”

“It’s not a hit on the billionaires,” Morici added. “You’re angry about your circumstances. So what do you do? You burn the place down and make your circumstances worse. The local shops that are going without a day. The very people they want us to patronize are the people that could get hurt.”