‘Who owns the power?’: Richmond workers protest on Labor Day

Molly Manning, News Editor

Heciel Nieves Bonilla, Assistant News Editor

Roughly 2,000 people turned out to Monroe Park on Labor Day for a “Workers Over Billionaires” rally and march to call for class solidarity and greater worker power in the face of attacks by the Trump administration. 

The protest was organized by 50501 Virginia, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and other local partners centered around stopping the “billionaire takeover” and President Donald Trump’s “anti-worker” agenda. 50501 — the group responsible for over 10,000 people marching on the state Capitol in June — held 19 Labor Day protests across the Commonwealth and thousands nationwide.

A series of community leaders and organizers spoke to the crowd in front of a banner that read “workers first, eat the rich,” including American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer. 

Bauer said in a speech that the Trump administration has an end goal of autocracy, and his recent deployment of the National Guard in Washington is dangerous and unwarranted. 

“This administration’s actions serve one primary goal, to scare people into silence,” Bauer said. “But look around, we’re not silent.” 

Throughout a march down Broad Street, protestors echoed chants such as “the people united will never be defeated” and “this is what a democracy looks like,” while carrying signs with phrases like “why is there no maximum wage?” and “tax the rich” along with upside down American flags.

Protester and VCU alum Lynda Perry showed up because she was concerned for the government and the country, she said. Perry is angry with VCU for complying with the Trump administration. The university ended its diversity, equity and inclusion programs in March following a Trump order and threats to their federal funding. 

Henrico and Goochland Democrats, Democratic Socialists of America, RVA Indivisible and the National Domestic Workers Alliance all tabled around the park, with one table dedicated to providing voter information for statewide elections taking place this November. The offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and members of the House of Delegates are on the ballot.

Speakers decried cuts to Medicare and Medicaid as attacks on the working class and their families. Trump’s passed budget made significant cuts and is expected to shift billions of dollars away from hospitals in Virginia, according to VPM News. Rural hospitals are particularly vulnerable and could face closure.

Several speakers called the Trump administration an oligarchy or autocracy, or even drew comparisons between the president and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. 

Jewel Gatling organizes with the National Domestic Workers Alliance, which represents 50,000 nannies, in-home care providers and house cleaners in Virginia, and over 2 million nationally. 

“They deserve respect, recognition, wage protection and everything to make sure they have a chance for peace with themselves and their families,” Gatling said.

Gatling used the protest to connect with domestic workers. Her table was covered in signs written in English and Spanish, as she noted many domestic workers — often immigrants — do not know what rights they have. 

Multiple unions, such as the Richmond chapter of the Service Employees International Union, showed up to the protest. Chapter secretary Cathy Bruce said they want to give a voice to Richmond city employees. She urged citizens to scrutinize the Trump government’s actions, and accused corporations of complying and eroding worker benefits behind the scenes.

“Where have these lies gotten us?” Bruce said. “Prices are going up steadily, new jobs are fading, the few programs that help people get a leg up have been treated like a fish being gutted by someone going through detox.” 

Attendee and “disappointed constituent” Sharon Williams-Davis organizes a protest every Saturday on the overpass of Arthur Ashe Boulevard near Byrd Park, one of several weekly protest sites in Richmond, she said. Williams-Davis is taking a break from her career to fight for democracy. Her goal is to get the community out and protesting at more regular locations around the city.

Starbucks Workers United union member Jonathan Mueller noted the participation of many VCU and other college students in the unionized Starbucks branches in the area. Mueller and other organizers have found it necessary to build a “strike fund” and educate uninformed workers after years of negotiations with the company. 

“We don’t learn a lot about unions and the history thereof in school, so by the time you become working age and someone tries to convince you to strike, without information beforehand you can be blindsided,” Mueller said.

DSA Richmond member Jonny Fuller said “Workers over Billionaires” is about who has the power in America, and returning that power to voters.

“Is it the billionaire class that gets to control and decide how the democracy goes?” Fuller said. “There’s more workers than there are billionaires, right? So who owns the power? Who’s driving this country?” 

The protest dispersed at roughly 7 p.m. after demonstrators marched back to Monroe Park.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect a new crowd count released by 50501.