Protesters in Kansas City campaign for workers’ rights after general strike
Amid the outfits reminiscent of the characters from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” plus a robot, Spider-Man and Captain America, signs proclaimed:
“We the people, not we the greedy billionaires.”
“They only get paid when you go to work.”
“I’ve got zero interest in further engaging the one percent.”
Workers’ rights and a frustration with the wealthy who protesters say profit from the working class were the key themes of the May Day protest at Washington Square Park in Kansas City on Friday.
The event was organized by a group of labor organizations and advocacy groups including Service Employees International Union, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, Missouri Workers Center and KC Tenants.
It was part of a national strike, calling for people to boycott work, school and spending on May 1.
A large group of protesters of all ages gathered at the park near Union Station, some of whom had marched from Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park downtown. Spirits were high at the event, with protesters cheering and clapping for speakers.
In between folk music and other performances, speakers shared their hopes for the gathering and what it would show those in power.
Dontay Wilson, president of UAW Local 31, who took to the stage with “some family,” as he called his fellow union members, addressed the crowd.
“If we don’t work, don’t go to school and don’t spend our money, we remind the billionaires that it’s our labor, it’s our dollars that keep this city on its feet,” Wilson said.
Through most of the speeches, a line of people stood silently, wearing the red dresses and head coverings from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian show and book about women becoming a repressed, restricted class.
LaTonya Sullivan, a Kansas City-based nurse and member of SEIU Healthcare, a union that represents health care workers, said her and her family all skipped work in the name of the national protest.
“We are the economy, we built this country,” Sullivan said.
Others in attendance had more specific local issues on their mind, like the city’s plan for a new jail, which is currently supposed to be located in the East Bottoms, near Frontier STEM High School and its elementary and middle feeder schools.
Michael King, a public school teacher with East High School and a leader with Decarcerate KC, said he doesn’t understand why the city would build a jail right across the street from a Latino-dominated high school. King said he’s fighting for Kansas City to give people a shot at feeling safe around the area with threats of ICE continuing to loom around the area.
A news release from organizers after the event estimated hundreds of people were in attendance.
Organizer Terrence Wise said more than 40 organizations came together for the event. But he hoped it wouldn’t be the end of collective action.
“We gotta take this power, and continue to build on it, and use it at the ballot box, and the workplace.” organizer Terrence Wise said. “If we don’t organize and use this power, this anger, to organize in the workplace and in our community and at the ballot box, then what the hell are we gathering for?”
This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 8:54 PM.
