'Workers over Billionaires': Protests erupt nationwide on Labor Day

Labor Day protests across the country, Tampa Bay

From Boston to Chicago, Austin to Los Angeles, thousands of people joined protests on Labor Day as part of the "Workers Over Billionaires" day of action.?Genevieve Curtis reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - From Boston to Chicago, Austin to Los Angeles, thousands of people joined protests on Labor Day as part of the "Workers Over Billionaires" day of action. 

Labor groups, community activists and politicians rallied to call attention to what they say is the growing influence of billionaires on U.S. political and economic policies – changes they argue come at the expense of everyday Americans.

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Local perspective:

In Tampa, about 100 people lined the sidewalks at Kennedy and West Shore Boulevard. Protesters held signs, chanted and called for reforms that they believe protect workers, not billionaires.

Jason Garo, one of the demonstrators, said the focus was on the ways in which workers are being treated under the Trump administration. Issues fueling protests include job losses among tens of thousands of federal workers after DOGE-related cuts, concerns about Medicare reductions for retirees and deportations of undocumented laborers. 

"I think everybody agrees, criminals are bad, criminals don't need to be here. But, people that are snatched from Home Depot, from the farms, from the fields, those are workers. So, we're here for the workers," said Garo.

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The protests also took aim at the Trump administration, with signs and speeches criticizing the president’s policies on redistricting, labor rights and the deployment of the National Guard in U.S. cities.

For protester Rachel Potts in Tampa, the demonstration was personal.

"My mom and my dad, they did it during Vietnam," Potts said. "And it’s kind of my duty now to fight for them, who are on Medicare and these programs that are at real risk of being cut."

The other side:

In response to the protests, the White House told our sister station in Washington, D.C. that no one has done more for working men and women than President Donald Trump, pointing to his middle-class tax cuts as evidence.

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During a Labor Day press conference, Peter Navarro, the counselor to the president, touted efforts he said benefit workers.

"Every single month real wages have gone up in the Trump administration," he said.