Skip to main content
Loading weather...

After 'No Kings' rally success, Boston activists plan May Day march today to protest billionaires, capitalism, and ICE — as organizers urge supporters to skip work and school

Thursday, April 30, 2026•
4 min read
MDN Staff
•
After 'No Kings' rally success, Boston activists plan May Day march today to protest billionaires, capitalism, and ICE — as organizers urge supporters to skip work and school

The rally is set for Boston Common today. The Boston Teachers Union is attending. Organizers are calling for a nationwide boycott of work, school, and shopping.

Listen to Article

0:002:17
Speed:
BOSTON — Fresh off the "No Kings" rally that drew an estimated 180,000 to Boston Common in March, the city's activist class is gearing up for another round. Today is May Day, and the plan is ambitious: a morning rally in East Boston, an afternoon march to Boston Common, and a nationwide call to skip work, skip school, and skip shopping.
The enemy, as always, is billionaires.
The rally kicks off at East Boston Memorial Park in the morning before moving to the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. Organizers — a coalition that includes the Boston Teachers Union, Massachusetts Peace Action, the Jewish Climate Action Network, and the Massachusetts 50501 Movement — are billing it as a "day of action" under the banner: "Workers have the power, not the billionaires!"
The demands are familiar: end ICE operations, oppose war spending, tax the ultra-wealthy, and defend immigrant communities. Supporters are being urged to participate in a nationwide economic boycott — "no work, no school, no shopping" — to demonstrate the collective power of the working class.
The Boston Teachers Union is participating, which means at least some teachers are planning to skip school to protest on behalf of the students they won't be teaching that day.

MASSDAILYNEWS

STAY UPDATED

Get Mass Daily News delivered to your inbox

From No Kings to May Day

The March 28 "No Kings" rally was the movement's high-water mark in Boston — 180,000 people packed the Common for a protest against the Trump administration, featuring speeches from state leaders and a set from the Dropkick Murphys. Organizers are hoping May Day captures some of that energy.
Whether a Friday afternoon rally about capitalism can match a Saturday protest headlined by a rock band remains to be seen.

What to expect

The event is part of a broader national May Day mobilization, with organizers claiming protests are planned in cities across the country. In Boston, the rally is expected to draw labor unions, immigration advocates, campus groups, and the usual constellation of progressive organizations that turn out for these things.
Traffic around the Common will likely be affected. The MBTA, for anyone planning to take public transit to a rally about making public transit better, will presumably be running its normal service — for whatever that's worth on a Friday afternoon.
The rally begins at 4:30 PM at Parkman Bandstand. Admission is free. Parking is your problem.

Have a tip? Email us at [email protected]

Loading Comments