US activists plan May Day economic blackout: 'No school, no work, no shopping' [View all]

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Source: The Guardian

Tue 28 Apr 2026 07.00 EDT
Last modified on Tue 28 Apr 2026 07.02 EDT


Labor unions, democratic organizations and community groups are organizing an economic blackout this year to commemorate May Day, International Workers Day, inspired by the economic blackout in Minnesota during the massive ICE operation in the state.

May Day Strong events are being planned across the US, with organizers calling for “no school, no work, no shopping”, in protest of government policies they say put billionaires’ needs above those of workers. Neidi Dominguez, founding executive director of Organized Power in Numbers and an organizer, said that the number of May Day events this year had more than doubled compared with last year.

“Last year, there were about 1,300 May Day actions across the country. This year, we think there’s going to be more than 3,000,” said Dominguez. “Minneapolis really gave us the biggest push in real time to do it. We have a long way to go to take massive disruption actions like in other countries, where people will go on general strikes and they can shut down their country, but I think we’re getting more and more close to people having consciousness about their own power as workers.”

Dominguez said the protests were a reaction to actions and threats from the Trump administration, including the proposal to send ICE agents to polling places during the midterms, and unilateral military actions on Venezuela and Iran. She said the actions this year were a step towards building a bigger movement.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/28/may-day-economic-blackout