May Day protesters will rally nationwide against the 'war on working people'

May Day is not officially acknowledged in the U.S. because of what historians say is an ongoing resistance to unity among the working class. This resistance is prompting protesters to take action on Thursday, regardless.

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People participate in a May Day rally in New York on May 1, 2017, to protest President Trump's anti-immigrant agenda during his first White House term. This year, May Day protests in the U.S. are expected to draw bigger crowds in more places. Bebeto Matthews/AP

toggle captionBebeto Matthews/AP

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets nationwide on Thursday in May Day rallies opposing the Trump administration.

May Day, celebrated by workers across the globe as International Labor Day, occurs on May 1 each year. This year, activists in the U.S. aim to build on the momentum of recent widespread grassroots protests against policies implemented by the Trump administration.

Anti-Trump protesters have expressed a range of concerns regarding the administration's recent actions, including the elimination of thousands of federal jobs, immigration raids, and billionaire Elon Musk's involvement in downsizing the U.S. government.

A protest against the Trump administration's 'war on working people'

On May Day, protesters are honing their message to decry what they say are attacks on the working class and immigrants. Organizers for the effort, called May Day Strong, say the administration and its billionaire allies pose a threat to labor rights, public services, and the safety of immigrants regardless of their legal status. Organizers have stated their opposition to violent forms of protest.

"This is a war on working people," organizers said on the May Day Strong events web page.

"They're defunding our schools, privatizing public services, attacking unions, and targeting immigrant families with fear and violence," they added. "We are reclaiming our power from corporate elites, and we will not be intimidated by Trump, Musk, or their billionaire backers. They've ruled for too long."

The White House did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.

The U.S. does not officially observe the labor holiday, due to what historians say is an enduring resistance to working-class unity. Despite that resistance, America's working class has found ways to commemorate May Day since the 19th century.

The tradition began with a labor strike.

Why Americans protest on May 1

Before the 8-hour workday became standard, the organization now known as the American Federation of Labor planned a nationwide strike for May 1, 1886, to demand an 8-hour workday, as many workers were doing shifts twice that long.

The Chicago strike, known as the Haymarket Affair, turned violent when police clashed with civilians, and a bomb exploded. Although the bomb's intended target was unclear, four men connected to the protests were hanged for conspiracy to commit murder and became celebrated as the Haymarket Martyrs. The Pullman railroad strike also played a significant role in establishing May Day in the U.S. Workers from the Pullman Palace Car Company initiated a widespread work stoppage in May of 1894, prompting President Grover Cleveland to send federal troops to Chicago to break the strike.

This set the stage for the long history of co-opting May Day.

Inspired by the Chicago workers, the international socialist movement gained traction, with activists spreading Marxist literature. In an effort to to detach May Day from labor movements, U.S. presidents have tried to redefine its significance. President Dwight D. Eisenhower made May 1 as "Law Day" — to recognize how the rule of law protects civil liberties, and Labor Day was moved to September.

During his first term, Trump echoed his predecessors by declaring May 1 "Loyalty Day," a time to celebrate the country's loyalty to individual liberties. Previous May Days during Trump's presidency saw similar protests and boycotts by immigrants and workers who railed against the Republicans' border wall plans and mass deportations efforts.

But the protests held across the U.S. in 2006, triggered by a bill to increase penalties for illegal immigration, might serve as a better comparison. Those March protests saw some 2 million demonstrators rally in 140 cities and 39 states.

What distinguishes Thursday's planned May Day protests is the scale of the movement, said Joseph McCartin, professor of labor history at Georgetown University.

With more than 1,000 events planned for May 1 in over 1,000 cities, according to organizers, McCartin said the nationwide protests stand to become the world's most widespread May Day on record.

"These are going to be protests that bring out a broader array of people and a broader array of places, and I think that's going to be historic, at least for that reason," he said.

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