Photos: Facebook|Wikimedia Commons
A “workers over billionaires” rally originally organized to condemn economic inequality and injustice will also protest yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme to further gut the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The May Day Rally & March For Justice will take place on Friday, May 1, 2026. The rally will start 11:00 am at the Lincoln Statue, 12 Springfield Avenue in Newark. A march to the federal building at 970 Broad Street after the rally is also planned.
“As we protest the economic suffering of working people in this country we are also compelled to condemn the Supreme Court’s catastrophic Voting Rights Act decision,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress stated.
“This decision is a major blow to the African American struggle for voting rights and political representation in this country. Ultimately, it will cause a reduction in the number of Black elected officials,” Hamm said.
“However, this decision will not only adversely affect Black people. It will end up hurting the majority of Americans, people of all races, workers, poor folks, and the middle class,” he said.
“This decision will not only bolster racism and white supremacy, it will also strengthen our economic and political system that works to the advantage of a small super rich minority and hurts everybody else, the vast majority,” he said.
“This move by the ultra right majority on the Supreme Court is another part of the Trump strategy to steal the upcoming midterm and presidential elections. However, we can thwart their plans if we vote and protest in record numbers,” he said.
May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, is observed annually on May 1st. It is rooted in labor’s struggle for the eight hour work day, the right to organize unions, and engage in collective bargaining.
“We are under attack, the middle class, the poor, working families, and those who have been marginalized. We need to make this the biggest May Day ever,” Charles Hall, president, Local 108 Retail Wholesale Department Store Union RWDSU stated.
Hall underscored the importance of solidarity across movements. He emphasized labor unity and coalition building. He also reaffirmed labor’s support for immigrant workers describing them as essential to the nation’s economy.
People are urged not only to participate in the protest in Newark but to support other May Day activities being held around the state. Marches and rallies are scheduled for Jersey City, Princeton, and other towns, cities, and college campuses.
Besides participating in protests people are encouraged to observe May Day by adhering to the national call for “no work, no school, and no shopping.” Others will observe it by participating in educational, cultural, recreational, social, and political activities.
The May Day event in Newark is sponsored by the People’s Organization For Progress, and endorsed by the Martin Luther King People’s Convention for Justice and Resistance Planning Committee, which represents a coalition of labor, community, religious, and grassroots groups.
Labor organizations endorsing the Newark rally include Local 108 Retail Wholesale Department Store Union RWDSU UFCW AFL-CIO, the New Jersey AFL-CIO, Painters Union IUPAT DC 21, New Jersey Education Association, American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, and 32BJ SEIU.
Other endorsing unions include Laborers’ International Union of North America Eastern Region, 1199J AFSCME, Essex West Hudson Labor Council, I.U.O.E Local 68, ILA Local 1233, American Federation of Government Employees Local 913, Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association New Jersey, and Communication Workers of America Local 1031.
Some of the community groups endorsing the rally include the NAACP Newark, Food & Water Watch, Empower NJ, Climate Revolution Action Network, Ironbound Community Corporation, Sophia Inclusive Community, and New Jersey Peace Action.
Some of the coalition’s May Day demands include increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15.00 per hour, passage of legislation to facilitate unionization, ending racial discrimination in hiring and promotions, equal pay for equal work.
Other demands include fair contracts, the establishment of a living wage in the U.S., paid sick leave, universal child care, Medicare For All, free college, elimination of student debt, and a national federal jobs program to eliminate unemployment.
In addition the coalition is demanding passage of legislation to protect the environment and make polluters pay, an end to the war in Iran, cutting military spending, restoration of the cuts in social programs, rehiring federal workers that have lost their jobs, rescinding tax cuts for billionaires, and increased federal funding for public education.
For more information please call People’s Organization for Progress at 973 801-0001.
