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2:26 p.m.
As things come to a close, marchers head north on Desplaines Street back to where the “Workers Over Billionaires” rally began at Heritage Green Park.
One of the last speakers was Brent Barron, president of the National Council of Field Labor Locals. “I represent the whole Department of Labor outside of Washington, D.C.,” he said.
“Our president signed an executive order eliminating collective bargaining rights for two thirds of the federal employees working for you. On behalf of all those employees, you have the power to change that,” Barron said.
He urged attendees to call the Capitol switchboard, at (202) 224-3121, to restore the bargaining rights.
Members of various local labor unions spoke about struggles they are encountering at their workplace and reminding attendees how labor rights were won, starting here in Chicago.
“Every benefit you have, whether it’s an eight-hour [work]day, overtime, worker’s compensation, health insurance, life insurance, vacations, that was all won by the labor movement. And don’t you forget it!” one organizer said as the march prepared for its closing.
1:56 p.m.
As the march heads west on Jackson Boulevard, Tiwon Sims, a frequent critic of Mayor Brandon Johnson, could be seen at the front of the crowd.
Sims has been interviewing marchers, asking why they are protesting. He said he believes that the action should be happening where disinvestment occurs, in neighborhoods such as Roseland or in Bronzeville; the latter is where a mass shooting recently took place.
“It would have been more impact, would have made more sense. It would have been more sincere,” Sims said.
Sims attributes the shooting to the absence of ShotSpotter; however, WTTW recently reported a new analysis of Chicago crime data showing a steep drop in violent crime and homicides in the 12 South and West side neighborhoods that had ShotSpotter sensors.
Sims also said he believes federal troops would come to the aid of Chicago police officers, should Trump send them in.
“This man [Mayor Brandon Johnson] has the helm. All of these things that he’s blaming on [President] Donald Trump, calling his failures out, and saying that he is reforming crime and the violence has went down? No, it hasn’t. However, we did lose a vital tool that was used in the city to calculate the metrics of it. It’s called ShotSpotter,” Sims said.
According to data from the Chicago Police Department, the city has experienced a 32% reduction in homicides, a 36% drop in shootings and a 36% decrease in robberies from last year.
1:39 p.m.
Rev. Walter Turner ended the speeches at the march’s Target stop. He called out Trump for defunding violence intervention programs.
“Mr. President, you have withheld the very funding that is earmarked from violence reduction. So we want to say what we need you to do. Reinvest in our children! Reinvest in our healthcare! Reinvest in our labor union! Reinvest in our communities!” Turner said. “Reinvest these resources, so that we can do what God has called us to do.”
1:33 p.m.
Coco, an organizer with Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), gave a resounding speech as the march halts in front of Target.
“We are Indigenous people whose land was taken, and generations of Africans whose labor was stolen to build this very system. On this Labor Day, we commit ourselves to dignity in our work, to justice in our communities, to resisting every form of exploitation,” Coco said. “We are here because our ancestors fought to make sure that their children and their children’s children would live with dignity and justice and to work, the right to work, and the right to rest. And so we stand in their tradition… unshaken.”
1:24 p.m.
The march has reached Target on Aberdeen and Jackson. Pastor Jamal Bryant is speaking.
“If we become like our enemies, we are no greater than them. Today, we are showing America what dignity looks like, what it looks like to express your issue and your problem without raising arms. To many in America, we look like criminals, but we’re not the ones that storm the Capitol on January 6,” Bryant said.
The crowd roared with excitement.
“Stay on Target!” Bryant calls out to the crowd, which repeated the chant.
12:38 p.m.
The march has reached Green Street and Fulton Market in the West Loop. Southsider Denean Pillar and her aunt are heading to lunch to meet with family from out of town.
Pillar was recording the march on her phone. She says she knew of the action and doesn’t feel inconvenienced by it.
“I support this march, everything with Labor Day. I work in workforce development. So all of the things that are happening with breaking down unions, breaking down rights in the workplace, being unfair to workers, all those things are very important to me.”
Pillar said she also loves that Chicago is standing up against the Trump administration’s plans for increased ICE raids and threats to send in the National Guard.
“That’s horrible to me for our country, the Christian nationalists and their movement, to say that they’re acting on behalf of Christ and putting things even in their language as they recruit ICE members, saying that this is the work of God, “Pillar said.
“God says take care of the immigrants. God says take care of those people who are less fortunate. So it’s just interesting, on Labor Day, where we’re talking about the importance of labor and rights of labor. I support,” she continued.
12:30 p.m.
While crossing an I-90 overpass, some protestors are holding their signs over the railing and drivers on the expressway are honking in support of the message.
“Donald Trump, you racist clown,” is a chant that can be heard as marchers reach the intersection of Halsted and Fulton Market in the West Loop.
Terry Rudd, who is marching in the “Workers Over Billionaires” protest, is a representative with the Progressive Labor Party. She says the only way workers will ever prevail is to get rid of capitalism.
“It cannot work, and we must destroy it. That’s why we’re here to tell these brothers and sisters that we cannot rely on the Democratic Party. We can’t rely on the union hack. We have got to get to the streets,” Rudd said. “We should be marching in Englewood. We should be marching in Washington, D.C. We should be marching everywhere, but we have to unite everyone. Everyone has got to see that our fight in Englewood is their fight here [in the West Loop].”
12:15 p.m.
Another Black protestor is out representing the postal union through the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). Mack Julion has been a mailman for 27 years.
“I’m here because Labor Day in this country was built off the shoulders and on the hard work of the labor movement,” he said. “We have to stick together, you know, solidarity forever. We have to remain connected, because right now labor is under attack; the most attacks we’ve seen against the labor movement in I don’t know how long., and we all have to come together.”
11:59 a.m.
Rally attendee Reva Stewart stood on the sidewalk at Desplaines and Lake streets. Stewart is a retired postal worker who worked at the post office for 31 years.
Stewart, who is 72 years old, says she came out today because she doesn’t want to see the United States Post Office be privatized, which Trump has proposed.
“I am totally against that. I believe that the Postal Service should be continued to stay public for the people and not for the billionaires,” Stewart said.
11:45 a.m.
Mayor Brandon Johnson took the stage. He ended his speech with a rallying cry: “No troops in Chicago. Invest in Chicago”
Pastor Jamal Bryant, who spearheaded the ongoing Target boycott, also spoke at the rally. The crowd is responding with cheers and applause to Bryant’s speech as they did in response to all speakers who have taken the stage and saluted Chicago’s history as a labor town.
“You cannot make America great without unions. It is because of unions that there are no children who are working underage. It is because of unions that you are able to have health benefits. It is because of unions, that you have vacation time. It is because of unions that you’re able to take sick leave. It is because of unions that you are able to have vacation. This is an American salute to all of you who work in labor,” Bryant said.
Workers from across various sectors will be heard today along the route. Protestors are preparing to start marching north from Desplaines and Randolph streets.
11:15 a.m.
The route of the “Workers over Billionaires” march was disclosed by a speaker at the rally.
Marchers will stop by “Trump’s friends” at Valor Equity Partners. The company’s founder and CEO is Antonio Gracias, a high-ranking DOGE volunteer. The private equity firm manages $17.5 billion in assets, according to NBC News.
Marchers will also stop by Tesla and Target, the latter has been the subject of an ongoing boycott. A grassroots movement, called “Tesla Takedown,” began in response to its CEO Elon Musk’s involvement with Trump and DOGE.
CTU President Stacy Davis Gates is currently speaking on the decorative stage at the rally. Gates is giving a rundown of the history of Labor Day, including the Pullman Porters and the impact of Chicago’s Black Metropolis.
11:00 a.m.
Marchers have made it to the meetup location on Desplaines and Randolph streets for the “Workers over Billionaires” action.
10:54 a.m.
The organizers have begun marching to join the “Workers over Billionaires” rally at Haymarket Memorial.
Alec Ozawa, CAARPR co-chair, spoke to attendees, giving background on why Chicago opposes military forces.
“So in Chicago, we know all too well the outcomes of militarization of our communities, including the historically enhanced policing tactics by CPD and predominantly Black and brown communities on the South and West sides.”
He added that Trump is targeting Chicago because it is a symbol of everything he opposes.
“Trump is targeting Chicago for a multitude of reasons, but we know it is because of our people power. We know that’s the power of the unions. We know that’s because Chicago has the most progressive mayor since Harold Washington. We know that’s because Chicago stands with Palestine. We know it’s [because] Chicago stands with immigrants, and we know it’s because Chicago passed the most powerful civilian police accountability system in the entire country with the passage of the Empowered Communities for Public Safety Ordinance. So as the racist reactionary Republican tried to pull back the wheel of progress, we’re gonna say, ‘hell no,’ and we’re gonna fight back.”
10:37 a.m.
The first protest is beginning with speakers.
According to Dod McColgan, of Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), union members are coming in from DuPage County’s Casa DuPage Worker Center. The Coalition Against the Trump Agenda raised funds to bring them in for the rally.
“Chicago is a part of the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda, because we know, just like all of you, that uniting with everyone in Chicago, with the other movements, with police crimes, and labor [and] reproductive rights, [and] academic freedom, this will give us the best chance at tearing down this system, and we’re replacing it with something that is for the people, by the people,” said Jae Franklin, co-chair of the Anti-War Committee Chicago (AWC).
— Corli Jay
10:30 a.m.
Organizers are mingling at Heritage Green Park on the corner of Adams and Desplaines streets as they prepare to rally in celebration of Labor Day while also opposing President Donald Trump’s threats to send federal agents and troops to Chicago.
Some of the groups in attendance are the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Organizers are passing out picket signs to protest attendees.
Today’s action is part of a national movement for the working class to join forces to “stand against rising fascism, for racial justice, immigrants rights, LGBTQIA+ equality, gender justice, public services and human rights in the US and abroad,” according to the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda.
— Corli Jay
9:30 a.m.
Downtown Chicago is the site for two anti-Trump protests today. One will begin at 10:00 a.m. before converging with the “Workers Over Billionaires” rally and march at 11:00 a.m.
Mayor Brandon Johnson will attend the 11:00 a.m. march and rally, which will meet at the Haymarket Memorial at 151 N. Desplaines St.
The TRiiBE will post updates during the protest.
The first protest, hosted by the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda, will begin at 10:00 a.m. on the corner of Adams and Desplaines streets.
At 11:00 a.m., the group will walk over to join the “Workers Over Billionaires” rally and march.
On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the Trump administration plans to expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in major cities, including Chicago.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker told CBS News if Trump sends federal troops to Chicago, voters “should understand that he has other aims, other than fighting crime.” He hinted that Trump’s true goal may be to “stop the elections in 2026 or, frankly, take control of those elections.”
