Unions, community groups join forces for Labor Day protests against Trump and billionaires Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAYSeptember 1, 2025 at 11:57 PM Labor unions and community activists are gearing up for mass protests on Labor Day hoping to remind Americans of the power of the working class at a time w...
- - Unions, community groups join forces for Labor Day protests against Trump and billionaires
Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAYSeptember 1, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Labor unions and community activists are gearing up for mass protests on Labor Day hoping to remind Americans of the power of the working class at a time when billionaires are playing an outside role in national politics.
More than a thousand "Workers Over Billionaires" events are planned nationwide in big and small cities on Labor Day and the surrounding days. in an effort to keep the momentum going from other mass demonstrations and keep pressure not only on President DonaldTrump, but also the billionaires who support or benefit from his administration.
"It's important to show that there is opposition to the Trump-billionaire agenda in every community big and small, it's not just cities that are united against what's happening… it's all towns, it's small towns that voted overwhelmingly for Trump," Saqib Bhatti, executive director of Action Center on Race and the Economy, told USA TODAY. "It's very important to show the opposition is there in all these places."
On Aug. 28 the White House did not respond to a request for comment on the protests. Instead, it provided a quote from Vice President JD Vance about Democrats not voting for the GOP tax and spending bill and a quote from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's press briefing about Labor Day.
"President Trump believes that American workers are the heart and soul of our economy and our national identity, which is why he's championed an agenda that puts them first always," she said.
The events, which are locally organized and tailored to local concerns, are led by labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO, national advocacy groups such as May Day Strong, Public Citizen and Indivisible and dozens on local advocacy groups. Some began late last week, others will continue throughout the first week of September.
Barbecues
Several of the events are designed to incorporate families and show off what unions do. Some are festivals and parades rather than marches and rallies, though hundreds of those are scheduled as well.
Organized Power In Numbers Executive Director Neidi Dominguez told USA TODAY that organizers want "to do something that clearly says we're in a different moment right now and out communities are hurting and we have to be turning out and showing up for each other in this moment more than ever."
Organizers in Madison, Wisconsin, are hosting Labor Fest 2025 on Madison Labor Temple grounds. There will be live music, food trucks, and children's events, as well as a collection drive for students in families who are homeless.
In Shoreline, Washington, there will be sign-waving and a march as well as a Back-to-School Drive to collect supplies for local students.
Labor Day weekend protests kick off in Washington, D.C.
In Sioux City, Iowa, the Sioux City Education Association is joining the NW Iowa Labor Federation picnic.
Bhatti said expects in total the Labor Day protests to be bigger than the May Day protests in the spring. Some of the involved organizations also helped set up the other large-scale protests of the summer, including No Kings Day in June and Good Trouble Lives On in July.
"We're seeing sort of a rush toward authoritarianism, we're seeing military occupations coming to our cities," he said. Protests are "very much needed at this moment."
Billionaires
Some of the protests and rallies will target particular corporate actors "that are really helping drive the authoritarian agenda," Bhatti said.
That includes people and companies that have donated to Trump's political action committees, those who worked for Elon Musk's Department Of Government Efficiency or who have financially benefited from moves by the Trump administration. Some events include marches or rallies outside their homes.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump, billionaires the target of mass protests
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