Trade unions and allied peace and justice organizations will be marking International Workers Day this Friday, May 1, with marches, rallies and, in some cases, work stoppages in communities across the country. Join us, and other MAPA members, for actions in Boston and across Massachusetts!
May Day is historically a time to celebrate the solidarity, dignity, and fight for the rights of workers and immigrants, but this year the stakes are higher than ever. Attacks on every aspect of working people’s lives – decent wages, education, health care, affordable housing, food security, voting rights, and the ability to live on a peaceful and healthy planet – are rampant. The calls of resistance this year will include such messages as “Workers Have the Power, Not Billionaires!” and “No Work, No School, No Shopping!”
The battle to defend education has emerged as one of the key struggles in this movement. Public school teachers’ and university faculty members’ unions are fighting the Trump / McMahon efforts to eliminate major funding programs from the Department of Education and to impose right-wing politics on campus teaching, research, and expression.
In late 2025, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA), and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) called for national Days of Action on the first Fridays of the months leading up to May Day 2026. Mass. Peace Action responded. Our Books Not Bombs Committee organized five First Friday Teach-ins on the general theme of “Defending Campus and Schools Expression” that brought together state and national leaders representing teachers, students, higher ed faculty, and public school parents. These teach-ins all identified the bloated military budget as one of the sources of the sweeping education cuts.
The Boston area events begin with a rally in East Boston’s Memorial Park at 11:00 am and extend throughout the day, ending with the Boston May Day Rally on the Boston Common, 139 Tremont St, 4:30-6:30 pm. See the full Boston schedule here.
May Day Rallies and Feeder Marches in Boston and Cambridge include, among many others:
- 11:00 am: May Day Kick-Off Rally (for All), Greater Boston Labor Council, Memorial Park, Porter Street, East Boston; then march to Logan Airport to join unionized airport workers.
- 2:30 pm: LUCE, Immigrant Justice Network: Boston Common across from State House: “ICE Out! Dignity and Safety for All!”
- 2:30 pm: May Day Strong: Dewey Square, Atlantic Ave (across from South Station and the Federal Reserve Building), Boston: “Power to Workers, Not Billionaires!”
- 3:00 pm: Anti-War Contingent: JFK Federal Building, Government Center, Boston: “Fund People’s Needs, Not the War Machine!”
- 3:30 pm: Boston Teachers Union: City Hall Plaza, Boston: Will present “A Better Budget for Boston Public Schools!” to City Hall.
- 4:00 pm: Mass. Teachers Association (NEA): Kendall Square T Stop, 355 Main St, in Cambridge: “Workers Over Billionaires!” and “Fully Fund Public Schools, Healthcare, and Affordable Housing, Not Tax Breaks for Billionaires!”
- 4:30 pm: Higher Ed Meet-Up: AFT, AAUP, UAW, SEIU: The Embrace Statue, Boston Common, 139 Tremont St, Boston: “Hands Off Higher Ed!”
- 4:30-6:30 pm: Boston May Day 2026 Rally, where all feeder marches converge: Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common at 139 Tremont St: “Workers Have the Power, Not Billionaires!” and “No Work, No School, No Shopping!”
We invite Peace Action members to bring your “No War, No ICE” and related signs, to join us in taking this stand at one of the rallies throughout the day. Rallies will also be held across the state and you can find a May Day event near you here. You can also take action wherever you are, by participating in the shutdown if you are able: no work, no school, no spending!
By Jonathan King
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Jonathan King is chair of the Books Not Bombs Committee of the Mass. Peace Action Education Fund.
