Activists are organizing local protests on Friday in Shorewood, Joliet and Lockport as part of a nationwide May Day movement.

May 1 is recognized as International Workers’ Day, and is often commemorated with protests and rallies around the world, pushing for workers’ rights and honoring past labor movements.

This year, grassroots organizers, including 50501 and Indivisible, are joining with labor unions and voting rights organizations across the country to promote May Day Strong events with the theme “Workers Over Billionaires.”

Up to 3,000 events, which encourage participants to boycott work, school and shopping for the day, are expected to take place across the U.S. on Friday, including more than a dozen in Chicago, where the U.S. labor movement originated in the late 1800s.

In Shorewood, a group of seniors who have been actively taking part in national protests for the past year is inviting residents to join them on Friday to “call for economic justice for working families.”

The seniors said in a statement that they plan to participate by “withholding their purchasing power to demonstrate the influence everyday Americans can have on corporate and political decision making” and to show that “even those who are retired can take meaningful action.”

“We need jobs that will provide wages to cover housing, living expenses and healthcare,” organizer Dorothy Brumbaugh said. “We need a safety net when jobs are not there. And in the name of humanity, stop the war.”

Key messages being promoted by the national movement include not just a focus on affordability and higher wages, but also demands to tax the wealthy, stop the war in Iran, stop the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdowns and to protect voting rights.

“Trump’s war is using money that should be spent on our people,” organizer Barbara McIntosh said. “His actions are instead making necessities less affordable. The war must stop.”

The Associated Press reported April 29 that gas prices have risen over 40%, or about $1.25 per gallon, since the start of the war in late February, with the average price in the U.S. reaching a record high of $4.23 per gallon.

McIntosh also expressed the seniors’ concerns about immigration, saying, “Immigrants have been essential to this country since its founding. We need to end harmful policies targeting immigrant communities and create a path to citizenship for long-time, law-abiding residents.”

Local protest locations

The senior citizens will hold their rally from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the 1100 block of N. River Road in Shorewood.

The Lockport event is slated from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the Lockport Walmart, 16241 Farrell Road.

Warehouse Workers for Justice is also organizing an event in Joliet for Friday morning. The event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 1220 Richards St. #A.

All three events state that they are open to all participants regardless of residency, age or political affiliation, to keep the focus on the goal of improving economic conditions for everyday people.

All protests also emphasize that they are to remain completely non-violent.