Posts tagged May Day
Dem congressional candidate arrested at May Day protest that blocked Wall Street
May 4, 2026 // At least five people — including a Queens congressional candidate — were arrested Friday as part of a May Day protest outside the New York Stock Exchange. Democrat Chuck Park was cuffed while blocking the entrances to Wall Street, his team confirmed.
600 groups with $2B in revenue mobilize 3,000 May Day protests in a ‘red-blue’ alliance, probe finds
May 1, 2026 // The California Democratic Party is using the pro-Democratic tech platform, Mobilize.us, to promote "Workers over Billionaires May Day rally" protests, like at the corner of Monroe Street and Highway 11 in Indio, Calif. In its publicity material, the California Democratic Party notes it's "the largest state party in the nation with more than 10 million members." The Ohio Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, North Carolina’s Young Democrats of Moore County, Young Democrats of Wisconsin and the Yuba County Democratic Central Committee are on the official list of organizers for a coalition, "May Day Strong," promoted online.
Watchdog report exposes teachers union ‘political machine’ funneling more than $1 billion to liberal causes
April 27, 2026 // According to research from Defending Education, national teachers unions alone have directed roughly $669 million toward left-wing political groups, advocacy organizations and campaigns since 2015. When state and local affiliates are included, that figure balloons to more than $1 billion in total political spending. The reports track spending from the two largest unions, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), as well as their state-level affiliates, using federal filings and campaign finance records.
Opinion: NC teacher walkout is sacrificing students for left-wing politics
April 27, 2026 // The N.C. Association of Educators has scheduled a mass walkout for May 1, urging teachers to leave school and rally in downtown Raleigh. School districts are already beginning to close in response, keeping children out of the classroom at a critical point before the end of the school year. Durham Public Schools shifted May 1 to a teacher workday after more than 600 teachers, about a quarter of its educators, requested leave. Asheville City Schools said it could not provide “adequate supervision of students” because so many staff planned to be out. Guilford, Chatham and Chapel Hill-Carrboro have made similar moves.
Opinion GOP’s fatal attraction to unions is the start of a bad romance
April 21, 2026 // Instead of offering flowers and chocolates, they aim to impress labor by slicing up the PRO Act and feeding it piecemeal to the rest of the GOP. The Faster Labor Contracts Act, sponsored by Hawley and Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), is the first portion. It would allow federal mediators to essentially write union contracts for newly organized workplaces, if businesses and unions can’t agree on terms within four months of a union’s workplace-election win.
Chicago Public Schools declare May 1 a ‘day of civic action’ for students
April 20, 2026 // However, CPS added that schools can allow "optional participation" in "civic engagement events" for students who wish to attend protests or take part in civic activities during the school day under state laws. "Principals may exercise their existing authority to provide students the opportunity to participate in events and field trips, including civic engagement activities on May 1 during the school day. Schools wishing to participate must follow the existing CPS student travel policy and normal field trip procedures," the CPS statement read.
Chicago teachers want no school on May Day, testing the city’s mayor and school leaders
April 12, 2026 // “What our students need, and what history teaches us is the only thing that works, is educators, labor unions, and community groups standing together to defend each other and our democracy and demand that the government put our families over their fortunes,” the CTU said in a statement. This week, Macquline King, the newly-named district CEO, said she had no plans to cancel class.
CTU plans to join May 1 ‘no school, no work’ day of action, wants classes canceled
March 14, 2026 // On Wednesday the union’s 730-member House of Delegates approved a resolution to join a national movement calling for a day of “no school, no work, no shopping.” Participants plan to call for higher taxes on the wealthy, better-funded schools, protections for immigrants and other reforms. Union leaders cited several reasons for participating, including to “demand ICE out of our cities,” referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and “tax the rich to support our schools and vital services,” according to the resolution. It also says public education is facing attacks from “MAGA politicians” who support the policies of President Donald Trump and “corporate interests.”
Watson Commentary: Making the AFL-CIO great again: labor policy in 2026
January 20, 2026 // The biggest labor issue of all might be the changing composition of what remains of the union movement. Goodbye, manual-labor men; hello purple-haired they/them grad students.
Lefty groups behind ‘grassroots’ anti-Trump protests in US propped up by billionaires and dark-money network
May 7, 2025 // Dozens of lefty groups behind the country’s supposedly “grassroots” May Day protests have been largely bankrolled by two billionaires and a dark-money network of progressive nonprofits. More than $500 million from Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss’ organizations, hedge-fund tycoon George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and the dark-money Arabella network flowed to the progressive groups between fiscal years 2016 and 2023, according to an analysis shared with The Post. The funding wasn’t intended for the May Day protests per se, but it has been propping up many of the self-styled “grassroots” progressive activist groups over time.