Chicago teachers and students will be among those expected to let their voices be heard on what is known as May Day.
Organizers are expecting more than 800 students to be bused to Rainbow PUSH headquarters from around the area Friday.
The Chicago Teachers Union says students will learn about voting, civil rights, community building, and advocacy just days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act.
Kids who attend will be part of the half-day program at PUSH and return to school afterwards.
Others, will likely attend the major May Day rally and march, beginning at Union Park and ending at Daley Plaza downtown.
That rally begins at 1 p.m. The march starts at 2 p.m. and is expected to go along Washington, Racine, Jackson, Halsted and Washington to Daley Plaza.
Now, CPS is in session today, but teachers and students, with permission, can participate in May Day rallies.
The mayor and the teachers union have called for civic engagement activities for those not participating in May Day rallies, but CPS CEO Macquline King said it’s not a requirement for students.
This year’s “workers over billionaires” boycott calls on people to skip school, work and shopping for an economic blackout.
Demands include taxing the rich and putting an end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
There are other May Day events throughout the city and suburbs. More than 300 Loyola University faculty members will hold a one-day strike. They have been in contract negotiations for more than a year.
Students, Workers and community members will rally outside Oak Park River and Forest High School, before marching to Scoville Park in Oak Park.
The CASA DuPage organization will lead a rally at its workers center in Wheaton.
A plaque dedication will mark the 140th anniversary of the Haymarket affair.
The historic worker’s revolt of 1886 here in Chicago marked the beginning of the eight-hour workday.
Several labor organizations will add plaques to the Haymarket memorial.
The ceremony begins at 9 a.m. at Randolph and Des Plaines.
