Workers over billionaires: Mass demonstrations planned for US Labour Day

Mass demonstrations are planned across the US on 1 September, on Labour Day, with workers planning to protest inequality and government policies that many see as dangerous.

Labour leaders from a range of sectors are organising demonstrations and marches in cities and towns across the country, expected to be some of the largest since US President Donald Trump, former reality star and real estate mogul, took office for a second term in January.

More than a thousand events are planned in at least 800 cities and towns—as far north as Fairbanks, Alaska and across the world in Guam.

Organisers are demanding an end to the billionaire takeover of the government; protection of social welfare programmes; funding for schools, housing and healthcare; an end to attacks on immigrants and other marginalised communities; and investment in people over wars.

"Billionaires are stealing from working families, destroying our democracy, and building private armies to attack our towns and cities. Just like any bad boss, the way we stop the takeover is with collective action," reads a statement from the group May Day Strong, a coalition of labour activists.

"On September 1st we will continue the movement we launched on May 1st. Thousands of communities across the country are taking a stand on Labour Day," the statement continues, referring to the international workers' day in May and the one specific to the US on the first Monday in September.

Over the past seven months, Trump has got legislation passed that redistributes funding from public services to favour the wealthy; he has sent federal agents on raids to detain and deport immigrants, often at their workplaces; his newly imposed tariffs will make prices higher for average Americans; he has sent the National Guard to police Washington, DC; and at meetings this week with European leaders over the fate of Ukraine, he effusively praised Putin and suggested to his counterparts that he would remain president indefinitely.

"With Trump going on the attack on the working class and unleashing police brutality on black and brown people, it's very important for people to oppose these policies," Kobi, Guillory, a middle school science teacher in Chicago, the city where International Workers' Day began with the Haymarket affair and a general strike over an eight-hour workday.

"One of the things people will be protesting is the fall-out over the 'Big BS Bill' [the recently passed Big Beautiful Bill]. There are hundreds of millions of dollars missing in the public education budget, and pretty much any public good people rely on for their livelihoods," he said.

He added that in addition to demonstrating against Trump, they will also be calling out Democrats they believe are not doing enough to protect working people.

Many demonstrations on Monday will highlight local disputes with corporations, such as a gathering in San Antonio, Texas demanding that the city's Marvel Project be built for the benefit of everyone, not just the wealthy.

This summer is the busiest time for protests since the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. The number of anti-Trump protests has far exceeded those in his first term, though the gatherings are often smaller. This is expected to change as Trump continues his heavy-handed policies, while many Democrats are seen as not rising to the moment.