Thousands Join May Day Strong Economic Blackout Against Trump Policies Across the United States

Across the United States, May Day protests and an “economic blackout” took shape under the “May Day Strong” banner, with organizers calling for “no school, no work, no shopping” and staging walkouts, marches, block parties and demonstrations outside major institutions.

“Dozens of people began gathering outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L”

ABC7 Los Angeles

The Guardian described “Thousands” joining the blackout as part of “3,500 ‘May Day Strong’ events across the country,” while NPR said “Thousands of people have turned out for May Day demonstrations across the country on Friday” and that organizers were calling for a boycott of work, school and shopping to protest the Trump administration’s policies.

ABC7 Los Angeles

In Los Angeles, ABC7 Los Angeles reported “Thousands of people hit the streets of Los Angeles Friday to mark International Workers' Day, also known as May Day,” and said the city issued a “citywide tactical alert” before a dispersal order, with the alert later canceled.

The American Prospect, co-published with Capital & Main, traced the organizing push to a mid-April meeting at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, where union organizers distributed flyers urging, “No Work, No School, and No Shopping on May 1st.”

Organizers framed the action as a “shutdown” or “general strike,” with the aim of demonstrating “the power of workers” by withholding labor, according to The American Prospect.

In the Bay Area, KRON4 said there are “more than 3,000 actions planned for across the U.S.” and reiterated the call for “no school, no work, no shopping.”

Even in Massachusetts, Cape Cod Times reported “nearly 100 May Day protests planned across MA, including 4 on Cape Cod,” tying the local plans to the broader May Day Strong coalition and its anti-Trump organizing.

In New York, Democrat and Chronicle said “Tens of thousands of people are expected to participate in protests against the Trump administration” on Friday, May 1, with “Thousands of scheduled events” encouraging supporters to skip work, school and shopping.

Organizers described the May Day push as both a labor-rights mobilization and a response to immigration enforcement and broader economic inequality.

In Los Angeles, The American Prospect said union organizers targeted President Donald Trump, quoting Cliff Smith of Roofers Union Local 36 calling him “the ‘fascist in the White House’” and saying, “It’s important to show business leaders if they back an attempt by Trump to steal the elections that we will shut things down in this country.”

Al Jazeera

Smith added, “May Day will show them that we are serious in our threats,” as the article described nationwide events in “scores of cities across the country.”

The American Prospect also said the coalition’s theme was “Workers Over Billionaires,” and it described the Los Angeles march beginning in MacArthur Park, “the site of a July raid that involved dozens of federal troops in tactical gear descending on a heavily immigrant community.”

Neidi Dominguez of Organized Power in Numbers said, “It’s International Workers’ Day. It’s important that we remind people about our collective power,” and she linked the action to “ICE raids, attacks on democracy, wars overseas” and the need to “join with workers all over the world.”

NPR similarly described the coalition’s aims as shifting “the nation’s tax burden from the working class to the wealthy,” “eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” “ending war,” and “limiting corporate influence in elections.”

In Kansas City, KCUR reported students joined protests “to protest federal immigration action and data centers in their communities,” and Swoo Harter said, “My generation, we've all pretty much given up on our dreams and our passions.”

In Chicago, the Guardian said “Healthcare workers with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in Chicago marched on an Amazon warehouse,” carrying a giant sign of Jeff Bezos’s head, while in Washington, D.C., Free DC shut down intersections holding banners reading “Workers over billionaires” and “Healthcare not warfare.”

The May Day protests included confrontational tactics at high-profile sites, with multiple reports describing chaining, blocking and arrests.

The Guardian reported that on Friday afternoon in Manhattan, protesters from the youth-led Sunrise Movement “chained themselves to the front of the stock exchange” while “more sat blocking the exits to the property,” and said they were “joined by about 100 protesters before being arrested and removed about an hour later.”

The Guardian also said Sunrise protesters led demonstrations in other cities that “ended in arrests,” and it described Portland protesters occupying a Hilton hotel lobby where Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials were “allegedly staying,” while in Minneapolis “six Sunrise protesters were arrested for blocking a bridge.”

In San Francisco, the Guardian said “several San Francisco city officials were arrested during a protest at San Francisco international airport” in support of airport workers’ union picketing over wages and ICE’s presence in airports.

The American Prospect described organizers urging shop owners to place “No Work, No School, No Shopping” signs in their windows and to shut their doors during May Day, framing the economic disruption as a way to demonstrate collective power.

In Los Angeles, ABC7 Los Angeles described a heavy police presence near the Metropolitan Detention Center, a fence around the complex, and a dispersal order after police said some demonstrators were blocking traffic, while also reporting that “So far, protests have remained largely peaceful.”

In Kansas City, KCUR reported students walked out of class and joined organizers at the corner of Westport Road and Broadway Boulevard with chants of “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”

In Memphis, Tennessee, the Guardian said protesters blocked the entrance to Elon Musk’s xAI datacenter by “lying in the streets.”

Alongside marches and street demonstrations, organizers emphasized school walkouts and workplace boycotts, with local reporting detailing how participation played out in specific districts and cities.

The Guardian said the blackout included “walkouts, marches, block parties and demonstrations held outside of institutions such as the New York Stock Exchange,” and it described the day’s disruption as part of a broader push for “no ICE and no war, and taxing the rich.”

Al-Shabaka Yaafa al-Ikhbariyya

NPR reported that Sunrise Movement expected “more than 100,000 students were expected to miss school, in what it called a ‘strike,’” and it said that in North Carolina “some 20 public school districts will be closed due to planned staff absences.”

NPR also reported that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education “issued a statement saying it had voted to call off school on May 1 due to the number of staff absences expected that day,” quoting spokesperson Tom Miner: “We want the same for the sake of our staff and our students.”

In Massachusetts, Cape Cod Times said many May Day protests revolve around schools, including school “walk-ins,” “stand-outs” or directives to wear red to show support for public education, and it described nearly 100 protests planned across the state with four on Cape Cod.

Cape Cod Times listed specific Cape Cod events, including “Sandwich: 3 p.m. at Quaker Meeting House Road overpass over Route 6 (exit 61)” and “Truro: Wear Red for Ed. 8 a.m. at Truro Central School, 317 US-6.”

In Los Angeles, ABC7 Los Angeles said organizers urged people to “skip work, school or shopping in solidarity,” and it reported that the theme was “Solo el Pueblo Shuts It Down!” with rights of workers and immigrants as the focus.

In Kansas City, KCUR said students walked out of class to join protesters and that a rally was planned at “5:30 p.m. at Washington Square Park downtown, across from the federal immigration court.”

Public safety posture and messaging about peaceful participation appeared prominently in local coverage, especially in Los Angeles and Maryland.

ABC7 Los Angeles reported that the city of L.A. issued a “citywide tactical alert Friday afternoon,” saying “no Los Angeles police officers are allowed to go off duty and more resources will be sent to downtown if needed,” and it said the alert was canceled after a dispersal order.

AP News

ABC7 also said police issued a dispersal order “saying some demonstrators were blocking traffic,” and it quoted that organizers and the Los Angeles Police Department were “asking participants to remain peaceful and non-violent.”

In Maryland, the Baltimore Banner reported that Lindsey Eldridge, a spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department, said officials were “aware of planned protests” and that “The Department is prepared to deploy officers as needed to support peaceful demonstrations, assist with traffic flow, and maintain public safety,” adding that “BPD has and will continue to work in close coordination with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to ensure a respectful environment for all.”

The Baltimore Banner also described how organizers sought to build participation through a coalition approach, saying organizers with the national coalition May Day Strong said “over 3,000 events across the country are planned, double the size of last year’s 1,500 demonstrations.”

In New York, Democrat and Chronicle described the volunteer-led 50501 movement as helping organize demonstrations and quoted organizers’ framing on MayDayStrong.org, including “We make this country run and we know how to take care of each other,” and “Our families and our freedoms need defending.”

In Los Angeles, ABC7 quoted Erika Schwerdt with Strength Based Community Change saying, “That's because we're the workers. We're the ones that run this city. Without us, these companies wouldn't have anything,” and it included Yvonne Wheeler, president of the L.A. Federation of Labor, saying, “Because under this administration, too many working people are being pushed to the brink.”

In Kansas City, KCUR captured the tone of youth-led messaging through chants like “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” and Swoo Harter said, “The future will be built on us and how we present ourselves in protest.”