Friday, May 1st marks the day many workers around the world will be observing the unofficial holiday known as “May Day,” with rallies, protests and events planned across the country.
In Chicago, large crowds are expected, with a rally and march planned for Union Plaza, with some students and staff from Chicago Public Schools participating. In the past, protests and rallies in Chicago have blocked streets and led to traffic impacts.
The rallies come as the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS agreed to declare May 1 a “Day of Civic Action,” with dozens of schools expected to participate in events, though classes will remain in session.
As the day gets underway, here’s what to know.
What is “May Day?”
According to a history compiled by UCLA, “May Day” stems from the labor movement that blossomed in the late 1800s, with workers trying to reduce their work hours from up to 20 hours a day to eight hours a day.oa powerful union established May 1, 1886 as a day for a general strike to push for the eight-hour work day.
Four years later, May Day, or “International Workers Day,” was observed around the world for the first time.
Debate continues over the Chicago Teachers Union’s request for a ”day of civic action” on May Day to allow participation in rallies. NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern reports.
Are Chicago Public Schools classes canceled?
Chicago Public Schools will be in session for a full day on May 1, but it will also be an official civic day of action during which hundreds of students will be able to take a “field trip” to a massive pro-labor, anti-President Donald Trump rally.
The CTU wanted the school district to cancel classes so that staff and students could participate in May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. CPS CEO Macquline King pushed back, saying she wanted to keep schools in session.
The disagreement kicked off a firestorm of debate.
According to officials, about 45 schools will be provided with buses and bag lunches so that students can attend an afternoon May Day rally. If the district can’t find enough buses, the city will pay for bus cards.
The district previously said it would also send out guidance to school leaders regarding the importance of civic engagement and suggest ways to involve students. The district also said that participation in the events would be voluntary.
While Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed support for the plan, many parents have pushed back.
While the schools will technically be open May 1, some parents say the plan curriculum includes politically charged content. NBC Chicago obtained a copy of that curriculum, which includes teachers talking to students as young as preschool about social justice, transgender rights and protest.
Bill Quinlan, an attorney representing the patients, echoed the parents’ concerns during a press conference at the Illinois Board of Education in April.
“Children can make the choice with their parents to take an absence for civic action,” he said. “Again, those are a choice that parents make with respect to their children. And I don’t think anyone’s disputing that. The question is when those choices get made for them.”
According to state law, students ages 12 and over are allowed one excused absence in a school year to participate in a “civic day of action.”
Chicago Public Schools will be in session for a full day on May 1, but it will also be an official civic day of action during which hundreds of students will be able to take a “field trip” to a pro-labor, anti-President Donald Trump rally.
Chicago’s connection to May Day
According to Britannica, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada (later to be known as the American Federation of Labor, or AFL) declared that May 1, 1886 would be the date from which an eight-hour work day would constitute a legal day’s labor.
As that deadline approached, labor organizers advocated for an organized mass strike to be held on the date, drawing hundreds of thousands of strikers in communities across the U.S.
Among the largest of those gatherings occurred in Chicago, where tens of thousands of workers took to the streets in a series of work stoppages.
A few days later on May 4, 1886, a rally at Haymarket Square ended with an explosion and gunfire after an unknown individual threw a homemade bomb into a group of advancing police, killing one officer and severely wounding several others.
Gunfire then ensued, with historians unable to reach agreement on whether demonstrators or police fired first.
Whatever the case, seven police officers died and at least four workers were killed.
Seven individuals who had taken part in the planning of the rally at the Haymarket were eventually convicted and sentenced to death.A total of four were eventually executed on November 11, 1887.
The first observance of May Day, or International Worker’s Day, took place in 1890, four years after the general strike and the deaths at the Haymarket.
Chicago May Day Events
A May Day Rally and March is set to take place starting at 1 p.m. in Union Park. Rolling street closures along the route will be expected.
The event will conclude at Daley Plaza, about 2 p.m.
At 9 a.m., the Chicago Federation of Labor and other organizations will host the 2026 May Day plaque dedication at Haymarket Memorial at 175 N. DesPlaines St.
A Rainbow PUSH Coalition May Day youth engagement event was also scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m.
Mayor Johnson was expected to make appearances at each of the events.
