Labor Day protesters across the country demand workers' rights, decry ICE
Protesters took to the streets in multiple U.S. cities on Labor Day to criticize President Donald Trump and demand a living wage for workers.
Demonstrations in Chicago and New York were organized by One Fair Wage to draw attention to the struggles laborers face in the U.S., where the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
Chants of āTrump must go now!ā echoed outside the president's former home in New York, while protesters gathered outside a different Trump Tower in Chicago, yelling āNo National Guardā and āLock him up!ā Large crowds also gathered in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
In New York, people gathered outside Trump Tower, which has become a magnet for protests and remains a prominent symbol of the president's wealth, even though the president hasnāt lived in the Manhattan skyscraper for years. Demonstrators waved signs and banners calling for an end to what they said is a fascist regime.
In Washington, a large crowd gathered with signs saying āStop the ICE invasionā and an umbrella painted with āFree D.C. No masked thugs.ā Hundreds more gathered at protests along the West Coast to fight for the rights of immigrants and workers.
Multiple groups joined together at the protests in Chicago to listen to speeches and lend their voices to the chants.
āWeāre here because weāre under attack. Weāre here because our core values and our democracy is under attack. We are here because they are threatening to send the military into our streets,ā Daniel Biss, the mayor of Evanston, Illinois, told the crowd in Chicago as he urged them to stand up for workers.
At one point, a woman got out of a vehicle with Iowa plates in Chicago to shout āLong live Donald Trumpā over and over again, resulting in a brief confrontation as the protesters responded with shouts of their own until the woman left a few minutes later.
In the crowd, Ziri Marquez said she came out because sheās concerned about overlapping issues in the U.S. and around the world, decrying anti-migrant attitudes in the U.S. and the killings of Palestinians in Gaza.
āI think especially, you know, when weāre dealing with low wages and weāre dealing with a stagnant economy, immigrants are largely used as a scapegoat,ā said Marquez, 25.
Along the West Coast from San Diego up to Seattle, hundreds gathered at rallies to call for a stop to the ābillionaire takeover.ā
Groups supporting federal workers and unions marched in Los Angeles; San Francisco; and Portland, Oregon, in support of workers rights. Rally organizer May Day Strong said on its website that ābillionaires are stealing from working families, destroying our democracy and building private armies to attack our towns and cities.ā
They called on people to take collective action to stop the takeover.
Portland protester Lynda Oakley of Beaverton told Oregolive.com that her frustrations with health care, immigration and Social Security inspired her to join the march.
āI am done with whatās happening in our country,ā she said.
King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, who took part in a demonstration at Seattleās Cascade Playground, told KOMO News that they wanted to send a message of workers above billionaires.
āWorkers should be more powerful than the small billionaire class,ā she said.
Associated Press Writers Michael Sisak contributed to this report from New York, and Martha Bellisle contributed from Seattle.