May Day: National Day of Action
for Peace, Immigrants, and Workers
Jon Rainwater / Peace Action
April 28, 2025) — As we approach May Day, I want to congratulate all of us who participated in the recent Hands Off actions across the country. Your energy and commitment have helped spark a vital movement against the rising tide of authoritarianism in our country. But our work is just beginning. This Thursday is another chance for you to stand up and fight back with others.
Peace Action is proud to endorse the May Day National Day of Action, joining with the Working Families Party, Roots Action, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), unions, and countless others who are fighting for democracy and justice.
The Trump administration and its billionaire allies are waging a coordinated assault on our democracy and our progressive vision for foreign policy. Trump’s push for a $1 trillion Pentagon budget is not just a number — it’s a direct theft from our communities, draining resources from schools, healthcare, and climate solutions to line the pockets of weapons contractors and their executives.
We see this in new weapons like Trump’s ridiculously on-brand “Golden Dome” space weapons system, a retread of Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars, which benefits a handful of military contractors while throwing gasoline on the budding arms race with Russia and China. This is foreign policy for the few, not the many. When billionaires and profiteers take over our government, the costs are clear:
- Endless wars and bloated military budgets
- New weapons systems that enrich contractors, not communities
- Foreign policy that is driven by corporate interests, not the needs of the people
And let’s be clear: it is impossible to organize for peace, justice, or any issue if our democratic rights are stripped away. We’re already seeing peace activists, international students here in the U.S, to study, arrested simply for exercising their rights and standing up for justice. This is a warning to all of us.
This May Day, we honor the legacy of workers who fought for the eight-hour day and social benefits. We carry their struggle forward by demanding a country that serves all of us, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
How You Can Take Action:
- Attend an event and mobilize: Explore the event map and invitations to find and join actions near you.
- Host or create your own May Day event: Sign up to host an event or encourage your local group to do so. Guides to walk you through how to do the event are available here.
This is our chance to show that the fight for peace is inseparable from the fight for democracy, economic justice, and human rights. Together, we can push back against the billionaire takeover and build a future that puts people – and peace – first.
Thank you for all you do.
For peace and justice,
Jon Rainwater, Executive Director of Peace Action
