May 1: A Nationwide ‘Economic Blackout’ Against Billionaires and Authoritarianism

Inspired by January’s mass strike against ICE terror in Minnesota, a vast coalition of labor unions, democratic organizations, and community groups are organizing a nationwide economic blackout on Friday, May 1, International Workers Day. “May Day Strong events are being planned across the US,” Michael Sainato reports at The Guardian, “with organizers calling for ‘no school, no work, no shopping,’ in protest of government policies they say put billionaires’ needs above those of workers.”

In this episode of Working People, we speak with a panel of guests who are all involved in organizing May Day events this week from Philadelphia to Chicago to Iowa. Panelists include: Jana Korn, who currently serves as the chief of staff for the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, and also serves on the board of Philadelphia Jobs with Justice; Jeff Kurtz, a retired locomotive engineer and union officer who also served as a state representative in the Iowa House of Representatives; and John Emiliano, a healthcare worker and organizer in Chicago with the Tahanan Center and Tanggol Migrante, a grassroots Filipino migrant defense network.

Additional links/info:

• May Day Strong coalition website
• Workers Over Billionaires 2026 - Philadelphia Linktree
• Workers Over Billionaires 2026 - Chicago details
• Lee County (Iowa) Labor Chapter Facebook page and May Day 2026 details
• Tahanan Filipino Center Instagram
• Tanggol Migrante website
• Latino Union of Chicago website
• Michael Sainato, The Guardian, “US activists plan May Day economic blackout: ‘No school, no work, no shopping’”

Featured Music:

• Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song

Credits:

• Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor

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