Kankakee will host a May Day Strong rally from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on May 1 at the Kankakee County Courthouse. The event is part of a coordinated national day of action that brings together workers, students, and families at more than 3,000 rallies, marches, and walkouts across the U.S.

May Day Strong is a coalition of hundreds of organizations calling on working people to stand against what organizers describe as a “billionaire agenda” and build collective power. Local organizing groups include Kankakee Friends of Labor, Connect Kankakee, and the Illinois Democratic Women of Kankakee County.

Indivisible Kankakee is participating in the national day of action. Organizers are calling on working people to boycott corporations on May 1 and shop local instead.

Connect Kankakee will have a tent at the rally with “know your rights” cards and information about rapid response teams and ways to get involved.

Danny Williams, a union activist with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) for over 40 years, said the hard-fought gains for workers are at risk.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was a staunch supporter of unions, viewing them as essential for economic justice and human dignity,” Williams said. “Dr. King was in Memphis supporting striking AFSCME sanitation workers at the time of his death.”

Williams also cited Jesse Jackson Sr. as a fighter for union workers. “Jesse Jackson was well known for walking picket lines and supporting collective bargaining. He stated economic justice and civil rights were inseparable.”

The rally runs from 3 to 5 p.m. on May 1 at the Kankakee County Courthouse. For more information, contact Indivisible Kankakee at: https://www.facebook.com/Indivisible.Kankakee or Connect Kankakee at: https://www.facebook.com/ConnectKankakee/.