Nationwide May Day protests expected to pick up mantle of 'No Kings'

Demonstrators march to the White House during a May Day protest in Washington, D.C., on May 1, 2025. Jose Luis Magana/AP hide caption toggle caption Jose Luis Magana/AP May Day demonstrations are expected to draw crowds across the country on Friday, with organizers calling for a boycott of work, school and shopping to protest the Trump administration's policies — and what activists describe as a billionaire takeover of government. The "May Day Strong" protest events in various cities, ranging geographically from Boston to San Francisco, are meant to mark International Labor Day. They follow anti-Trump protests under the "No Kings" banner that organizers say have drawn millions of people nationwide. Unlike the Labor Day celebrations in the U.S. each September, May 1 has traditionally been reserved as a day of protest. In the U.S., May Day goes back to the 19th-century movement to establish an 8-hour workday at a time when it wasn't unusual for Americans to work shifts of 12 hours or more . The shorter, standardized workday was first proposed in the early 1800s. But it wasn't until 1938 that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act , which set a workweek of 44 hours, and then became 40 hours in 1940 . The National Education Association — the nation's largest labor union, with 3 million members — is a key organizer of Friday's protests. …