Anacortes residents rally at 'May Day Strong' demonstration
May Day (copy)
Protesters in Anacortes on Friday, May 1.
"Lean on Me" by Bill Withers and other songs about camaraderie played as protesters holding colorful signs gathered at the intersection of 12th Street and Commercial Avenue in Anacortes Friday, May 1, as part of the "May Day Strong" events across the globe.
"May Day Strong" is a series of rallies and a movement to not go to work, school or shop on May 1 - International Workers' Day.
While May Day has been a significant labor advocacy day since the 1800s, this year the focus is on placing greater importance on workers than on billionaires.
Indivisible National's event description says, "Mass noncooperation takes coordination, training, and sustained effort. It takes all of us, talking to our neighbors, building relationships, and getting organized. And then, at a certain point, it becomes real and substantial enough to make a mass change. Noncooperation is simple in principle: we withhold our labor, our money and our participation."
Anacortes' May Day rally saw about 100 people and was hosted by Anacortes Stands Up.
Most drivers responded to the rally with honks and cheers, and a few revved their engines in disapproval.
May Day (copy)
Protesters in Anacortes on Friday, May 1.
The rally featured a few signs discouraging people from going to work, school or shopping.
The largest of these signs was a net with orange block letters stating the message.
"It's basically an economic strategy, as opposed to just standing on the streets and showing solidarity," Anacortes Stands Up member Sarah Pedersen said.
"There's a belief among many of us that we're not going to necessarily get anywhere in resistance unless we show economic impact, although I think that the president is doing a fine job of doing that for us."
Most signs at the protest were about protecting democracy, which is Anacortes Stands Up's primary reason for its Sunday and Wednesday weekly protests.
For more information about Anacortes Stands Up and the group's upcoming protests, visit anacortes-stands-up.org.
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This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 7:03 AM.