May 1st is not a holiday; it is a day of reckoning when the working class simultaneously shouts out the anger and hope that has been accumulating for years.
Bosses' greed for profit, precarious working conditions, systematic violence against women and a youth condemned to a future without a future... These are all two sides of the same coin. The capitalist order cheapens labor and narrows our lives. As women, we are subjected to multifaceted exploitation at home, at work and on the street, but we do not kneel. On the contrary, we are growing an organized stance against this order.
In 2026, May Day will be celebrated with strong, independent and decisive rallies in four major cities - Adana, Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. This choice is no coincidence. This year, the vanguard of the working class wants to draw a line that does not give in, but on the contrary, raises the determination to fight even more. The aim is to raise a revolutionary voice against capitalist exploitation and imperialist oppression and to bring republican values together with class struggle. Not allowing symbolic places like Taksim to be closed to working people and turned into a protocol by capital and power is part of this stance.
From the point of view of working women, the issue is more burning. Families oppressed below the poverty line, increasing femicides, the fact that equal pay for equal work is still a dream... Instead of keeping silent in the face of these, it is necessary to take to the streets “to hold them to account”. Because women's liberation cannot be separated from the class struggle. Our demands for equality, secularism and independence are intertwined with the general struggle of the working class.
The theoretical and political importance of May 1st emerges precisely here: It offers the possibility of grasping the different forms of exploitation as a problem of a unified order, not a fragmented one.
Today the issue is not only about a fairer distribution of labor. It is about the social principles according to which life will be organized.
Competition or solidarity?
Profit or social good?
Capitalist domination or an egalitarian social order?
May 1st reminds us that these questions are not abstract debates but historical choices.
Because every period of crisis creates not only an economic but also an ideological and political struggle. In such periods, May Day goes beyond being a defensive reflex and carries a constitutive claim. It is not only the will to protect existing rights, but also the possibility of expanding the idea of another social order.
In this respect, May Day is not a commemoration of the past, but a political design for the future.
That is why squares are important.
Because the square is not only the place where the crowd gathers; it is the historical ground where the class establishes itself as a subject.
This is precisely why we need May Day today.
Because poverty is not destiny.
Precarity is not a law of nature.
NATO is not freedom and security.
Violence against women is not inevitable.
And the current order is not the end of history.
May 1st is the name of the collective mind, the organized will and the claim for historical transformation against all this.
Some days are not just remembered; they require taking sides.
May 1st is one of those days.
The main issue this May Day is to overcome the disorganization and create a real united force. Instead of being limited to protocol speeches, it is imperative to establish a line of struggle that gives voice to millions, encourages new participation and continues the next day with greater determination. I invite all laborers with similar concerns to share this common responsibility.
For an enlightened, republican, laboring republic,
Ankara Anıtpark- 15.00
Istanbul Kartal Square- 15.00
Izmir Karşıyaka Democracy Square- 15.00
Adana Iller Bank Junction - 12:30 pm
After all, May Day reminds us once again that “you are one, we are all”. Only together, organized and courageously defending our labor, the dignity of our lives and our future can we win.
Let's meet in the fields. Let us multiply hope. Let us raise our voices against exploitation and all forms of tyranny.
Long live May Day!
Long live the unity, struggle and solidarity of the working class!