Denver, CO – On Monday, September 7, more than 80 workers gathered near the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment office for a Labor Day rally under the slogan “Workers Over Billionaires!”
Emcees Katherine Draken and Miles Thompson started the rally with a brief history of Labor Day and some historic strikes in the United States. They stressed that the struggle still exists to this day, and it is important to continue to fight in the face of continued repression from the Trump administration.
Union workers and other community organizations with the Denver Coalition Against Trump gave speeches throughout the day, the first of which came from Kyle Burroughs, a UPS Teamster and district organizer for the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “We take the risk every day. We work all the jobs and we get nothing!” Burroughs noted that the biggest risk billionaires ever take on is the possibility of becoming members of the working class.
While many workers face dangerous working conditions every day, they receive little in return for their grueling labor.
A rank-and-file Teamster, Burroughs advocates for workers to take on the boss instead of seeking solutions through corporate collaboration with the union. “I believe that the unions need to fight. I believe that there are two sides in this class war,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs envisions a different future for the working class, one under socialism. “Socialism is how workers will turn this ugly thing into its opposite,” Burroughs said, referring to capitalism. “Do we think life will be better under socialism? We know it will be.”
Participants later heard from Naomi Wilson, a union barista with Starbucks Workers United. Wilson spoke about how Starbucks workers started demanding better conditions five years ago and how they have already built a union with over 12,000 baristas across the country.
“Our CEO brags about charging $9 for a coffee as he rakes in millions and travels to work in a private jet,” Naomi stated, highlighting the stark contrast between the owner and the overworked and struggling baristas.
Starbucks has earned a reputation as a company with one of the highest counts of federal labor law violations in modern history. Wilson says workers are fed up and are building a movement to fight back. “Our bosses think that we don’t have the grit and determination necessary to win, but I know that when we stand together, we will win!” In Wilson’s view, workers around the country can stand with striking Starbucks workers by joining them on the picket line and boycotting Starbucks.
The crowd then marched to the Denver Elections Division, chanting “Get up, get down! Denver is a union town!” and “Billionaires don’t save the day! Tax the rich and make them pay!” among other fiery rallying cries.
Mar Melendez with Aurora Unidos CSO spoke outside the Elections Division about her organization’s struggle for immigrant rights and Chicano liberation. By mobilizing working people to defend their neighbors, CSO has freed eight detainees from the nearby GEO detention center. Melendez paid homage to the history of Chicanos in the labor struggle and spoke to the decades of exploitation faced by the working class. “Our history reminds us that dignity is never negotiated. It is fought for and it is taken from below– for the people, by the people,” stated Melendez.
On the way back to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the protesters shouted more chants while local protest band Notes of Dissent played songs such as Bella Ciao and The Hand That Feeds, as well as some improvised music.
Dr. James Walsh, an educator at CU Denver and a member of the United Campus Workers, highlighted that the crowd at this Labor Day rally is the youngest he has ever seen. He feels this represents a shift in the labor movement, stating that rank-and file unions, or, in his words, “unions that don’t need approval from officials,” are the future.
The final speech of the day was delivered by Kate Biester of the Sheridan Educators Association. After their contract expired in 2025, the union fought to expand their next contract to include all school faculty instead of just teachers. Bookkeepers, bus drivers, custodians, computer technicians and more were represented for the first time in the district. “We must envision a new labor movement,” Biester said. “One that unites white collar and blue collar and workers of all types as labor!”
The prevailing sentiment throughout the protest was one of powerful struggles against the ruling class and pride in the union movement. Kate Biester urged people to “make this Labor Day yours and ours! For all of us!”
#DenverCO #CO #Labor #LaborDay #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters
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