By Socialist Horizon, originally published on Punto Rojo.
The Minneapolis rebellion of 2026 has grown into a national working-class movement against the authoritarian state terror of the Trump regime. The battle against ICE and the killings of Minneapolis resisters took up the tactics of the working-class—the mass strike—and drew in broad new layers of radicalizing workers, youth, and students in places across the U.S.
This same movement now has the potential to create a truly significant national-level mass strike on May 1st, 2026. This past Sunday, more than 400 rank-and-file workers, community activists, anti-ICE watchers, anarchists, socialists, and syndicalists held a “Worker’s Assembly” at the United Labor Center in Minneapolis towards that goal. The Assembly voted unanimously to organize a three-tier protest for May 1st: workplace strikes, school walkouts, and consumer boycotts.
Socialist Horizon believes that the Minneapolis Workers Assembly can be another turning point in organizing against the Trump-ICE-Epstein regime. It offers a flexible model for how to build a bridge between workers’ movements and the defense of immigrants and migrants. It can also become a left pole of attraction for both unionized and ununionized workers and activists. Socialist Horizon encourages revolutionary socialist groups in the U.S., rank-and-file union workers, non-union workers, and students to join us in a call for locally organized assemblies across the United States to build for May Day.
What Is a Workers Assembly?
A workers’ assembly is a meeting of rank-and-file workers who democratically propose and vote on resolutions and demands that will advance the conditions of the working class.
The Minneapolis Workers Assembly, for example, had representation from many professional trade unions, from commercial food workers to communications workers to teachers. One of the Assembly leaders, Kieran Knutson, is President of Communications Workers of American Local 7250.
The Minneapolis Workers Assembly voted on these steps to build a mass strike on May Day designated as “No Work, No School, No Shopping.”
- Organizing strike committees in at least 25 workplaces (union and non-union)
- Organizing a large, strike-ready labor contingent and handing out flyers at the Next No Kings rally (3/28).
- Organizing at least 10 strike trainings
- Getting at least 5 unions and 5 community organizations to commit to strike
- Biweekly meetings (including labor education) of individuals workers and also representatives of the component unions, community, and rapid response organizations of this assembly to work toward these goals.
However, the goals of a worker’s assembly can be broader than just workplace issues. The Minneapolis Assembly based its call for a May Day strike on the fact that “The power of the working class, including mass-coordinated strike action, is the strongest weapon our movement against ICE has to combat Trump’s racist, far-right, billionaire agenda.”
The Assembly made the fight against ICE central, calling for the abolition of ICE and DHS. This agenda was supported by Assembly partners like Black Lives Matter Minnesota. The Assembly also voted to support a ‘Day of Care’ for youth, especially BIPOC youth.
Socialist Horizon believes that a successful May Day Assembly can be built through direct outreach to anti-racist organizations, immigrant defense groups, and faith communities who share a common perspective on the fight against ICE and the need to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. The working-class can only be divided by attacks on immigrants. Fighting racism must be at the center of May Day organizing.
Building a Mass Strike for May Day
The Minneapolis Assembly included union leaders and rank-and-file workers, community collectives, and members of radical political organizations. The Resolution for May 1st was written by members of Minneapolis Democratic Socialists of America and members of Socialist Alternative. Anarchist collectives were also included in the Assembly coalition as were collectives like the Workers Solidarity Circle. The Assembly itself emerged from this coalition of forces.
Similar local assemblies can be built everywhere across the U.S. drawing together labor and left forces. For example, partnerships can be built between radical worker collectives, central and local labor councils, local trade unions, and community organizations. They can also be built with socialist and anarchist groups who share a democratic approach to organizing. A successful May Day assembly must also be broad and non-sectarian. It must include faith communities, immigrant defense groups, LGBTQI+ groups.
May Day Assemblies can also be tied into existing organizing efforts both locally and nationally. The Minneapolis Assembly for example pledged to build towards May Day at the March 28th No Kings March. Local assemblies can also work in alliance with the May Day Strong Movement.
In some areas, organizing for May has already begun among local unions. They can also be the basis for a May Day Assembly.
Finally, local assemblies can add calls to action that speak to specific local conditions. For example, if tenants’ rights is a crucial issue in your community, a call to include a tenants rights protest could become part of a May Day call to action,
Working with Immigrant Rights Groups Towards May Day
In Minneapolis the Minneapolis Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) held a large march through an immigrant neighborhood in Minneapolis the same day as the Workers’ Assembly.
The march was multiracial, working-class, and militant. Chants included “Los inmigrantes / no somos ilegales / somos trabajadores / internacionales” (“The immigrants are not illegal/we are international workers”).
It is important to connect May Day organizing of every kind to mass mobilizations against ICE and attacks on international workers. The struggle against the authoritarian Trump regime, ICE, and the bosses is one struggle. It is especially important that the undocumented and their rights be included in coalition building towards May Day.
An important model to follow is the 2006 “Day Without an Immigrant” National Day of Action in 2006. The “May Day Movement for Worker & Immigrants’ Rights “in 2006 successfully organized millions of workers—immigrant, documented, undocumented, and citizen—to boycott businesses and strike in protest of strangling U.S. immigration policies. The protest was built by community and faith groups in alliance with workers organizations and immigrant rights groups. May Day assemblies should use similar tactics to build the widest coalition towards a mass strike.
Making Students Part of May Day 2026
Student walkouts from high schools against ICE have become one of the most important forms of protest in the new push towards a mass strike.
Building a successful assembly to organize for May Day means reaching out directly to students through social media or school contacts. Members of teachers’ unions, like the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, and American Association of University Professors, should reach out to their unions and invite them in as participants in a May Day assembly. The same day as the Minneapolis Workers Assembly, AFT and AAUP co-sponsored a “Schools Drop Ice” mass call encouraging schools to cut ties with corporations that have ties to ICE.
Some high schools and colleagues also have Young Democratic Socialists of America (youth wing of the DSA) chapters or other groups who can be invited into planning to help build a student walkout for May Day. Including youth struggle in an assembly for May Day is crucial for building the widest possible mass strike. We should fight for the expansion of May Day assemblies into school campuses, both K-12 and college.
May Day Assemblies and the Battle Against Capitalism
May Day 2026 can be a new turning point in the larger struggle against the capitalist system. The mass demonstrations, student walkouts, rallies and strikes since January 1st have shown how quickly people are radicalizing against the system. As in 2006, millions of people are moving to the left, and are seeking forms of direct against the system.
A successful mass strike on May Day will show just how much power workers have and be an important building block on the road to a new society. Building a May Day Assembly can be a crucial step forward in the process. When we fight, we win.
Join Socialist Horizon in building for May Day 2026!
