Nearly 300 people filled the State Capitol stairway on Monday evening during Labor Day. This rally was part of the nationwide campaign “Workers over Billionaires,” a celebration of labor unions and a fight for a better future for all workers.
The rally was organized and hosted by various organizations, including the Party for Socialism and Liberation Salt Lake, the Utah State Progressive Caucus, the Democratic Socialists of America and Green Wave Utah. Filled with musical performances, chanting, singing and several speakers, such as a candidate for the State Board of Education District 7, John Arthur, and lead organizer for PSL Salt Lake, Denise Weaver.
The speeches and rally had a central focus on workers’ rights, describing the advances and changes labor unions have made throughout history. Several other topics were mentioned throughout the rally, including the DHS Career Expo being held in Utah, conflicts in the Middle East and the growing frustration of elected officials across the state and nationwide.
Protesters’ motivations
Throughout the rally, The Chronicle spoke with several organization leaders and protesters about their motivations for participating in the protest.
Patrick Justin, age 19, lists workers’ rights as a motivation for attending the protests and emphasizes their importance for the economy. “I believe that workers should get paid equally, because the more the workers are paid, the better the company prospers,” Justin said.
Daniel Brinkerhoff, 34, shared a similar motive for the economy, shifting the lens to the federal government’s actions. He explained how these economic changes in the federal government will determine the future. “We are making economic decisions, such as tariffs, specifically, that are going to erode the American working class. And the worst part of all, these decisions are going to cause damage over the next several decades,” Brinkerhoff said.
Serena, 29, explained that numerous factors brought her to participate, specifically, what is happening in Palestine. “I am here because of Gaza and Palestine and the fact that our tax dollars are going to slaughter innocent people every single day,” Serena said.
Deanna, 29, echoed how workers’ rights were her primary reason for getting involved. Additionally, she listed ICE deportations as a point of concern. “I also think what’s really important is what’s going on with ICE right now and people getting deported, and people living in fear, and how much power they have, that they should not have,” Deanna said.
Why show up
The federal government has used deportations as a way to respond to protesters, specifically pro-Palestine protesters in academic settings.
Serena explained the importance of speaking up and getting involved in community action. “If we don’t speak now, there’s not going to be anything left to fight for,” Serena said.
Deanna explained how discomfort is essential to a movement and how numbers affect the statement made by a protest.
“You have to get out of your comfort zone to make change. Second of all, the more people that show up, the more powerful we are,” Deanna said. “I think the more people that show up, the safer we all are together.”
What’s next?
Throughout the evening, multiple organizations had engaged with protesters through tabling, giving insight into what the future holds for the organizations.
David Tory, a member of the leadership for Green Wave Utah, explained what the organization wanted to accomplish with abortion rights moving forward. “We raise money for mainly abortion rights as well as trans rights. We’re all about body autonomy, as I mentioned. We like to go to these protests, have tabling [and] just educate people about abortion rights,” Tory said.
Democratic Socialists for America co-chair Adrianne demonstrated a focus on education moving forward. “We are doing a lot of general socialist education. So every month we have something called a socialist night school,” Adrianne said.
A sing-along and group picture with the protesters and organizers concluded the rally, as the sun was setting, everyone left the Capitol stairways. The evening was filled with chants of workers’ rights and the power that everyone held. Weaver concluded her speech, urging everyone to understand the value of labor.
“I bet you that all of those things that matter in your life, there are employees somewhere who are paying the cost of the boss’s bad decisions,” Weaver said. “You can help those workers by getting involved in the sorts of organizations that get you close to them.”
