Stand Up Lockport is hosting a May Day Rally at 11 a.m. Friday in front of the closed Big Lots store on South Transit Road.
Indivisible, the nationwide network of local political action groups behind the No Kings protest movement, launched the May 1 National Day of Action to protest low wages, high prices, overtaxation, and war. Its messaging includes the lines “workers over billionaires,” “expand democracy, not corporate power,” “No ICE” and “No work. No school. No shopping!”
For affiliates of Stand Up Lockport, coordinator Monica Clifford said, the local rally is also a venue for speaking out against giant AI data centers like the ones proposed in the towns of Alabama (Genesee County) and Tonawanda (Erie County).
“It’s another chance to make our voices heard,” she said.
Asked whether Stand Up Lockport is endorsing the message about no work — no school — no shopping on Friday, Clifford said the nonpartisan citizens group is not inviting anybody to skip work or school — but it asking people to refrain from shopping at the so-called big box stores and spend their money with small, local businesses instead.
May 1 is known by the labor movement as International Workers’ Day, an occasion to celebrate laborers and the working class. May Day Strong — a national coalition of more than 500 labor unions, community organizations, pro-democracy, immigrant rights and racial justice groups — stated in a Monday news release that approximately 3,000 May Day rallies are scheduled around the country. The digital platform mobilize.us shows that, in addition to Lockport, registered rally sites in the region include Buffalo, Batavia and Rochester.
Stand Up Lockport’s May Day Rally has the same general rules as a No Kings rally: Be civil; leave your weapons at home; keep your protest signs “G-rated”; and in this case, don’t park your vehicle in front of the nearby Lockport Outdoor Store.
Also, Clifford said, Stand Up will collect non-perishable food items for distribution to local pantries.
To register for the rally, find and click on Stand Up Lockport’s event on the May Day Strong map at mobilize.us.