May Day 2026: Communists out in Record Numbers!
The Communist

May 5, 2026
May Day RCA

In the wake of Trump 2.0, the Iran War, and the Minneapolis General Strike, the RCA anticipated that this would be the biggest May Day in the US in living memory. Pressure from below compelled the labor leadership to endorse demonstrations in dozens of cities—and at almost every one across the country, the Communists were there.

362 comrades in over 28 cities intervened, where we sold some 750 copies of The Communist! The comrades gathered 390 contacts, and we collected over $3,270 in sales. Coast to coast, the reports exuded our forces’ enthusiasm. In Philadelphia, one contact came to May Day seeking us out saying, “I knew you guys would be here!” He will be attending a cell meeting this week. In Seattle, union rank-in-file were receptive to our slogans for a class-independent workers’ party. We experienced the same thing elsewhere, too. We likewise received attention from the bourgeois press in various quarters.

In multiple cities such as Boston and Portland, OR, we held public meetings the following day to discuss why radicalized workers should join the RCA! Our party is going from strength to strength. This is partially a reflection of the growing class anger among US workers who see no way out between Trump and the Democrats—and the most advanced are seeking a class-independent solution. Our success likewise proves why Bolsheviks must seriously study perspectives, history, and theory to answer workers’ questions.

Below we share some of the reports from our May Day interventions. However, the class struggle doesn’t pause after May Day. The working class desperately needs a revolutionary leadership to prepare for the titanic events to come. If you agree, it is time to join your party!

New York City

For the first time in decades, the NYC Central Labor Council endorsed May Day. It was also the first time a NYC mayor spoke at a May Day rally since Fiorello La Guardia in 1934. It’s not a mere coincidence that 1934 and 2026 both saw general strikes in Minneapolis. These are symptoms of the class rage building in society and the pressure this is putting on workers’ leaders. We had 55 comrades intervene at the Washing Square Park rally, selling at least 150 papers, 21 booklets, and making 76 contacts. This shows that there is not just class anger in society, but a hunger for new ideas.

May Day RCA

Image: own work

Philadelphia

The Philadelphia RCA attended the local AFL-CIO’s “Vision for a Working People’s Philadelphia” May Day demonstration with 73 comrades. We sold 131 copies of TC23, along with other press materials. We made 22 contacts and recruited one new member on the spot for $120 dues. Between press sales and donations, we raised $1,149! A Spanish-speaking comrade was interviewed by Univision, and we were featured in a photograph on the Philadelphia Inquirer’s coverage of the protest.

From the beginning, it was very obvious we were the only organization politically motivating workers to attend the rally. We have been campaigning for May Day since late March, not only by postering and flyering, but also talking to workers about May Day’s history and how we can use May Day 2026 as a starting point for an organized fightback against ICE and the Iran War. Although the turnout for May Day 2026 was a few thousand smaller than last year when Sanders made an appearance, the mood among attendees was much angrier and the political level was overall much higher.

One comrade was approached by a man who had come across us six months ago but wasn’t able to be an active member at the time. This time, he was ready! He came out on May Day specifically to seek us out, exclaiming “I knew you guys would be here!” They had a great conversation about the power of a general strike and the need to build a revolutionary party. He’ll be attending a Philly cell meeting soon!

As another example, an Iranian woman ran up to us and excitedly said she participated in the Iranian Revolution as a member of the Tudeh Party. “I saw the Communists and knew this was my party,” she said and promptly took one of our posters, which she walked around proudly with for the rest of the day!

Seattle

In Seattle, 25 comrades sold 44 papers (plus two books!) and made 42 contacts. We had the most professional table and the largest contingent of any left-wing group. Although the official organizers failed to offer a political lead, we found an audience for the ideas of revolutionary communism in the crowd of a few thousand.

During the march, one SEIU union member told a comrade that we were “kicking ass.” She asked him if our chants calling for a workers party and a general strike resonated, and he said, “Yes! No one trusts the Democrats or Trump anymore, we need another option.” Other SEIU members nodded their heads.

Additionally, we put together a team to reach out to unions and left-wing groups to endorse our campaign to free comrade Ehsan Ali. Our approach was not as bold communists like we usually are, but we did not hide who we were either. The various left parties were open to solidarity. The Seattle Revolutionary Socialists (part of the Firebrand socialists group) and the local IWW both stated they would bring up the Solidarity point in their meetings. We just need to follow up with them to make that happen. The Green Party, FSP, and Revolutionary Women were very excited to help, stating they wanted to put the solidarity campaign on their website. Refuse Fascism also seemed open to helping. UCFW3000 and UAW4121 both stated they could bring it up with their executive boards if we were to contact them further about the issue.

Boston

Yesterday, 23 comrades tabled at the May Day event on the Boston Commons. We had 4 tables spread around the stage. The crowd was double the size of last year’s May Day rally. The liberal speakers got middling-to-poor reception upon urging the crowd to vote away their problems.

Our comrades spoke to members of various left groups, as well as anarchists, social democrats, progressives, and liberals. Multiple people from these organizations were impressed by our theoretical clarity. While some accused us of being dogmatic, armchair activists, a patient explanation usually got them to see the huge importance of patient party building. With the sheer variety of organizations present, people wanted to know what made us different.

Our plan makes us different: a real plan of action created through scientific understanding of the world and a study of revolutionary history. Being able to stand our ground and respectfully identify our disagreements with other groups was important to communicate to unorganized workers searching for a way forward.

The red flag isn’t as scary as it used to be. Several people came up to me to say, “It’s good to see the banner flying.” No other communist group in Boston mobilizes like we do. We were also able to campaign for the release of our comrade Ehsan Ali, speaking to the prominent Green Party activist Jill Stein.

Chicago

33 of the Chicago comrades met in Union park for May Day. We sold $413 in literature, with at least 35 copies of the paper. We also gathered 10 contacts. Among these were many interested high school students, with whom pamphlets were especially handy since most of them didn’t have cash. One middle school student, whom we’ve met before, informed one comrade of their school’s Anti-Duhring reading club that they had started.

Minneapolis

25–30 comrades mobilized for May Day. Before the march, comrades met up at a separate location to discuss the history of May Day, our slogans and chants, and our goals: make high quality contacts, spread our ideas by selling the paper, and train the newer comrades in these tasks. The march had fewer attendees than expected, considering the number of unions that signed on. Overall, comrades were bold, selling at least 40 papers. We also focused on making fewer, higher quality contacts, of which we made 15.

Dallas-Fort Worth

A group of five comrades intervened at the Dallas City Hall May Day March, and in just one hour of agitating, sold three papers and made four contacts! The total attendance of the event was about 200 people, a mix of mostly organizers and the activist layer with just a handful of workers present.

One of the biggest lessons to come out of today was that if we want to unite the working class. We must do so on the basis of our class position through a mass party. As one contact put it, “We must build a vanguard party.” This reflects that there is a mood for May Day, but this won’t be actualized until there is a fighting leadership.

Phoenix

May Day in Phoenix brought together unions, the DSA, and several other groups on the left. However, they all presented a reformist outlook. During their speeches, they called for taxing the rich, and one DSA candidate for city council told the crowd to prepare for… May Day 2028. In this environment, the RCA stood out.

We staged our own mini-rally after the speeches, and several workers began approaching our table. All of us were quickly occupied in separate conversations. One of these was with a worker named Luis. He immediately told the comrade how glad he was to find an unapologetic communist organization.

During the conversation, Luis expressed his dissatisfaction with some of the tactics he’d seen from other groups on the Left. He criticized how they focused too little on education and did not seem to have a clear grasp on what socialism was, or meant, or how to bring it about. Our comrade explained the approach of the RCA, that we have maintained the thread of genuine Marxism and a part of that is a serious and professional approach to the education of the comrades. Luis bought a paper on the spot and we expect to see him at our upcoming aggregate. There’s clearly a hunger for our ideas, and we need an audacious, unapologetic approach. Done right, such an approach makes our ideas shine even brighter.

Los Angeles

16 comrades joined dozens of unions and other organizations on May Day, selling 35 papers and making at least 16 contacts. One contact we made told us he has been a communist since he was 17: “I’m a communist before I’m black or a man or anything else.” That is, the main line of division in society is class. This was clear to the many people who bought our paper and expressed interest in attending our “Marx in the Park” event the next day on the history of May Day and its relevancy today.

The 7,000-strong march was charged with a festive atmosphere as it traversed the same route 500,000 workers tread 20 years ago during the 2006 “Day Without an Immigrant” May Day march. It was evident the union leadership felt the pressure from the seething class rage bubbling throughout society. One California Faculty Association union leader took the stage to demand a fight against the billionaires and a break with the Democrats! Many chants were geared toward the fight against ICE.

We injected our own slogans—the need for a workers party, fight against the Epstein class, and demand 20-hours work for 40-hours pay with unions leading the way! Several people joined our contingent during the march, and we gathered their contact info. For those unorganized, radicalized workers on Friday, the RCA stood out as the serious organization to join. We debriefed after a long day in the sun and determined to recruit the best of these contacts by the end of the weekend!

Detroit

9 Detroit comrades were at the May Day event organized by the AFL-CIO. We sold 45 papers and made 8 contacts.

We talked to an elderly man who explained that a lot of young construction workers come into his shop talking about communism. He said he reads our website all the time and bought 6 papers to hand out to these customers.

We also had a lot of young people who didn’t know what May Day was or much about communism. Once we explained what we are fighting for and the historical significance of this day, their faces lit up with so much excitement. They bought papers and signed up to get involved!

May Day RCA

Image: own work

St Louis

10 comrades intervened in two May Day rallies, one at Washington University campus organized by the graduate student union and a larger one organized by several local groups. The speakers oscillated their messaging between vague threats to billionaires and urging people to vote for Democrats.

Between these demonstrations, we sold 43 papers and made 23 contacts. Nearly everyone we spoke to described themselves as a socialist. One individual interrupted our comrades, introducing themselves to say “Who DOESN’T know the RCA??” We’re getting popular!

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