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May Day: Day One of a Mass Youth Uprising
This system is not made for everyday working people, and the only way we can change things is if we start disrupting the status quo.
May 01, 2026
Today, for May Day, millions of students, educators, and workers are striking for our education, lives, and futures. This isn’t just a rally or march: Whether it’s shutting down corporate offices or leaving classrooms empty, we’re disrupting business as usual. And, young people are taking the lead.
Today isn’t a one-day strike. It’s day one of a mass youth uprising. Throughout history, we've seen students and workers on the front lines of anti-authoritarian movements, catalyzing mass societal action.
In the days leading up to May Day, we’ve seen that we’re already having an impact. In Durham, North Carolina, the Durham Public Schools announced last week that school was cancelled on May 1 because over 1,000 students and staff were projected to walk out of school that day. In Madison, Wisconsin, schools shut down after 70% of staff committed to this national day of action. A dozen more school districts have followed suit.
So when pundits ask, “Where are the young people?” The answer is, May Day. Across the country, people are growing increasingly frustrated with political and institutional leadership that are serving billionaires, not us. While the Trump administration commits war crimes in the Middle East, millions are stripped of their healthcare. While billionaires get handouts to build data centers, they claim we can’t solve our housing crisis. While college football coaches are paid million-dollar salaries, tuition to attend school continues to rise.
This May 1, we will strike in hundreds of thousands. In every corner of this country, you will see students walking out of class and workers striking from their jobs.
It’s extremely clear to young people like me: This system is not made for everyday working people, and the only way we can change things is if we start disrupting the status quo. If we’ve learned anything over the past few months, it’s that when people come together in masses, we are more powerful than the people in power, and we win. Specifically, when people practice mass noncooperation in their schools and cities, they win.
Mass noncooperation is the act of not giving in to their "business as usual." We hold the power because we make the system run, and we have the power to make it crumble. It means recognizing that the system only functions because of us, and choosing to withdraw that labor, that time, that participation is power we hold. It is not enough to protest on our days off, or repost a social media post. We need workers to stop going to work so billionaires lose money. We need students and educators to stop attending classes to show the power of those empty seats. We need to stop working for a system that is failing us, to show them that we can turn it all around if they keep ignoring our needs.
We’ve seen mass noncooperation work in the past. Earlier this year, after tens of thousands of people went on strike in Minneapolis following the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) commander in the city was removed from his role, and he himself said that the level of noncooperation from Minnesotans was stopping ICE from carrying out its goals. Now, we’re taking that action nationwide.
This May 1, we will strike in hundreds of thousands. In every corner of this country, you will see students walking out of class and workers striking from their jobs. You’ll hear chants and cheers for one another; you’ll feel hope and resilience. And when we do, we’ll show President Donald Trump and his billionaire friends that if they keep going with their agenda, we will stop their regime from operating. If they keep abducting our neighbors, if they keep choosing Wall Street over working people, if they keep starting wars instead of giving us healthcare—the kind of disruption they are seeing today will be a drop in the bucket.
We’re also sending a message to people across this country: We, working people, have the power. We run the economy, we fill the classrooms. If we stop cooperating, the billionaires can’t profit, and the oligarchs can’t rule. We have the power to win what we deserve: a world where we earn a livable wage, breathe clean air, and can afford necessities like education.
Today, on May 1, we say: No work. No school. No spending.
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Students Stage Walkouts in Dozens of Spanish Cities to 'Stop the Genocide' in Gaza
"While young people like us are being killed and subjected to genocide in Palestine, we cannot be in class," said one protester in Madrid.
Oct 02, 2025
Tens of thousands of students walked out of classrooms in cities and towns across Spain on Thursday to protest Israel's ongoing US-backed genocide in Gaza and abduction of Global Sumud Flotilla members, dozens of whom are Spanish.
The National Students' Union organized Thursday's protests under the slogan "stop the genocide against the Palestinian people." Demonstrations, which took part in at least 39 cities and towns, varied in size from small groups to thousands who turned out in Barcelona and the capital Madrid, where students held banners with messages like "Stop Everything to Stop the Genocide," "All Eyes on the Global Sumud Flotilla," and "Free Palestine!"
"We're not going to look the other way," the union said in a statement. "The Palestinian cause is the cause of the youth and the millions who stand for human rights and social justice. That is why... we called the general student strike to empty the classrooms and fill the streets with dignity."
Maria, a Spanish student interviewed by Turkey's Anadolu Ajansı in Madrid, said: "While young people like us are being killed and subjected to genocide in Palestine, we cannot be in class. The whole world must do everything it can to stop this genocide.”
Another Madrid protester, Francesca—an Italian student studying in Spain—told Anadolu that “we must pressure governments to stop Israel."
"Allowing genocide in full view of the world is unacceptable," she added. "The killing of women, children, and students in Palestine must end."
In Barcelona—whose former leftist Mayor Ada Colau was among the dozens of Spaniards who set sail for Gaza from the port city—an estimated 6,500 students and others took to the streets Thursday.
"What I can do is be here, with my presence," student Donia Armani told El País. "The more people, the better; so the Palestinians will not be alone."
Armani's mother added, “The Palestinians are like a brotherly people, we feel a lot from the absurd images we see."
Ana, a 14-year-old student protesting in Barcelona, said: “I think it’s very bad what’s happening," adding that Israel does "not let food arrive and also bombs them, which causes many, especially small children, to die, and I am very sorry."
Thursday's walkouts took place as Israeli forces continued assaulting Gaza on Thursday, killing scores of Palestinians amid a backdrop of ongoing famine and forced displacement. Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 66,225 Palestinians in Gaza, although experts say the actual death toll is much higher. At least 168,938 other Palestinians have been wounded, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.
Spain's socialist-led government has been a leading critic of Israel's genocide in Gaza, taking numerous proactive steps including cutting off arms transfers to the erstwhile ally, prohibiting the shipment of fuel to the Israeli military, formally recognizing Palestinian statehood, and backing South Africa's genocide case currently before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry says at least 30 Spaniards are among the many Global Sumud Flotilla activists seized by Israeli forces in international waters overnight Thursday while attempting to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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Trump Tariffs Are Burdening US Families With 'Back-to-School Tax': Analysis
"Trump's back-to-school message to America's families is crystal clear: Don't expect help, just expect less," said one expert.
Aug 14, 2025
Families of students across the United States are facing significantly higher prices for basic supplies as the new school year begins, a cost burden that a new analysis blames on President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and the massive Republican budget package he signed into law last month.
The analysis, conducted by The Century Foundation (TCF) and Groundwork Collaborative, estimates that prices for supplies such as index cards have surged by more than 40% this year.
Lunch staples have also gotten more expensive, with U.S. families set to pay roughly $163 more on average for juice boxes, strawberries, and other such items this year, according to the new analysis, which characterized the higher costs as a "back-to-school tax" imposed by the president.
"President Trump's policies are forcing families to foot higher bills for back-to-school essentials from binders and lunch-box staples to clothes, shoes, and even laptops," said TCF senior fellow Rachel West. "From his reckless tariffs to his budget law slashing food assistance and federal student loans, Trump's back-to-school message to America's families is crystal clear: Don't expect help, just expect less."
The analysis was released just as new economic data further underscored the impact of Trump's tariffs on prices across the economy, with wholesale prices registering their largest monthly gain since June 2022.
TCF and Groundwork's findings align with a recent survey by the research firm Deloitte, which found that nearly half of U.S. parents and caregivers believe lunch costs on school days will be higher this year than in 2024.
Liz Pancotti, Groundwork's managing director of policy and advocacy, said Thursday that "President Trump's tax and tariff policies have turned the back-to-school season into a budgeting nightmare for hardworking American families."
"From lunch boxes and notebooks to juice boxes and pencils, parents are being squeezed at every turn—paying more for the school supplies and meals their kids need to succeed," said Pancotti. "No family should have to struggle to afford the basics while the wealthy and well-connected cash in on massive tax breaks they do not need."
"Trump's tax and tariff policies have turned the back-to-school season into a budgeting nightmare for hardworking American families."
The budget law that Trump signed last month is set to deliver trillions of dollars in tax breaks largely to the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations while making unprecedented cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid.
Those programs are used in states across the country to determine eligibility for free or reduced-cost school meals, and cuts inflicted by the Trump-GOP law are expected to leave more than 18 million children across the U.S. without access to free school meals in the coming years.
"President Trump's policies—including his erratic, punitive tariffs—are squeezing families' budgets as they prepare to return to school," TCF and Groundwork said Thursday. "Not only has Trump failed to keep his promises to tackle high prices, but his massive budget law will soon drive costs even higher for back-to-school essentials as its cuts to programs that children, families, and college students depend on take hold."
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