Some of the people who came to Friday’s May Day march and rally in Waukegan offered a message of worker solidarity on what many countries worldwide consider International Workers Day.
Others had a long list of issues they wanted to address, including workers’ rights, the war in Iran, the federal tax structure, immigration and more.
David McDowell, of Waukegan, called it “Workers over Billionaires National Day of Action.”
“Thousands of organizations across the country are calling today a day of ‘no school, no work, no shopping,’ to disrupt the violent billionaire takeover of our country and to put working families first,” McDowell said.
McDowell was one of more than 200 people who marched more than a mile through the community and rallied at Corrine Rose Park on Friday in Waukegan, supporting workers and criticizing benefits going to the “billionaire class.”
Recognizing that one march will not make a difference for many people, McDowell said organizations must attract more workers and other like-minded people to their cause. There will be multiple efforts. It will take time, he said.
“It will take thousands of acts from people of different faiths, different origins, different ideas and goals over the years,” McDowell said, “Not just I, but my neighbor as well, is worthy of high-quality and affordable healthcare, education and a job that pays enough to support a family.”
Katie Salyer, a leader with Northeast Lake County Indivisible and a march organizer, said several groups banded together to make the march and rally happen. Working people were the main theme, but other policies of President Donald Trump’s administration were on their minds.
“We are concerned about the war in Iran and ICE,” Salyer said, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents operating in the area. “We want to be visible for people to see us marching on the streets.”
With the majority of marchers walking through the park and onto several streets, some moved away from the main group and waited for them at the corner of Belvidere Road and Lewis Avenue. They held signs until the groups joined again at the intersection.
People held signs reading “Money for people’s needs, not the Iran war,” “From 2006 to 2026, strike for immigrants’ rights,” “This all ends when enough of us say no,” “Make billionaires pay fair share,” and “No school, no work, no shopping.”
Steven Del Vecchio, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1989 to 1993, wore a hat and held a sign letting people know he is a military veteran. He said too many people in the country are lacking in rights.
“We are a diverse country,” Del Vecchio said. “That includes immigrants, people of color and the LGBTQ community. We need jobs which will pay a real living wage.”
After the march, people heard comments from labor leaders and other community members like Andy Friedlieb, president of the Lake County Federation of Teachers and the Waukegan Teachers Council. He said school funding is less than it needs to be, and cuts are being made.
Friedlieb said more taxes are not needed from ordinary working people, but the ultra-wealthy, people with “more money than they could ever spend in a lifetime,” should pay a larger share of taxes.
“When gas prices go up, workers feel it immediately, billionaires don’t,” Friedlieb said. “When grocery prices rise, workers struggle, billionaires don’t notice. When tariffs drive up the cost of goods, it’s working families who pay the price.”
Megan Accardo, a paraprofessional in Grayslake Community Consolidated School District 46, said the lack of school funding burdens teachers in the classroom and the students they instruct. Increasing taxes for the “ultra-rich” will make a difference for the next generation.
“Fair funding is about more than dollars and cents,” Accardo said. “It is about opportunity. It is about justice. It is about ensuring every student, every educator and every community has the resources they need to thrive. We need to put people over profit.”
