The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations are in their third week
Protesters are gathering for a march on New York's financial district, with rallies also planned in several other US cities.
Occupy Wall Street organisers hope to attract thousands of people to the rally in lower Manhattan, having won the backing of powerful unions.
The demonstrations are now in their third week and show no sign of fading.
They have been venting grievances over the 2008 corporate bailouts, high US unemployment and home repossessions.
'Revolution'Protests have also been held recently in Las Vegas, Chicago, Ohio and Florida, where a rally last weekend drew a crowd carrying signs that read, "End Corporate Welfare" and "It is Time for a Revolution".
Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested last weekend on the Brooklyn Bridge.
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Camille Rivera Community organiserWhat do you do when no one is listening to you? You take action”
Students at colleges across the US were urged to walk out of class in solidarity with the activists at lunchtime on Wednesday.
Rallies are planned in the cities of Boston, Washington DC and Los Angeles.
But the biggest event is set to be in New York, where organisers expected dozens of unions and community organisations to join a march on Wall Street.
Among the groups planning to attend were the Transport Workers Union, which offered its financial support last week.
The AFL-CIO federation of unions, the Communication Workers of America and the United Federation of Teachers have also said they would take part.
Union chiefs said the decision to back the protests came from shared grievances.
"These young people on Wall Street are giving voice to many of the problems that working people in America have been confronting over the last several years," Larry Hanley, international president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, told CNN.
'I'm the 99%'Protesters' numbers have swollen since they first gathered as a small group camping out in Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street and the Federal Reserve.
Protests in other US cities have attracted thousands of supporters A march is also planned on Wednesday from Zuccotti Park to Foley Square, the large plaza across from the New York County Supreme Court.
A number of grassroots organisations such as the New York Communities for Change and United NY are expected to take part.
Camille Rivera, executive director of United NY, told the Associated Press news agency: "I think they're capturing a feel of disempowerment, feeling like nobody is listening to them. What do you do when no one is listening to you? You speak up, you take action."
In Boston, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is using the first day of its annual conference to join protesters who have set up a makeshift camp in that city's financial district.
MoveOn.org - a liberal activism website - is encouraging participants to post photos of themselves with the caption, "I'm the 99%".
This is said to be a reference to those people not among the wealthiest 1% of Americans.
The rallies have been largely peaceful apart from occasional scuffles, including the arrests of more than 700 protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday.
New York police were criticised after video showed two women in the march being pepper sprayed by police.
But police said the demonstrators had ignored warnings to keep off the road and avoid halting traffic.
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