Labor Day rallies across San Diego County demand ‘Workers Over Billionaires’

Protesters were holding several “Workers Over Billionaires” demonstrations throughout San Diego County Monday as part of a nationwide Labor Day effort organized by labor unions and other groups.

A rally at Waterfront Park, located behind the county Administration Center on Pacific Highway, drew between 1,200 and 1,500 people, event spokesman Mark Sauer told City News Service.

“Considering it’s a holiday for working folks, (turnout) was encouraging,” said Sauer, who added the rally was peaceful.

Some of the elected officials who spoke were San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, San Diego City Council members Joe LaCava, Kent Lee and Stephen Whitburn, and Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, Sauer said.

Sauer said speakers focused on organized labor and the November special election for Proposition 50 — an attempt by Gov. Gavin Newsom to redraw California’s congressional districts to negate a similar move in Texas — Trump administration policies’ effect on working families, and how the 2026 mid-term elections will be a way “to put some serious checks and balances” on them, organizers said.

Along with the Waterfront rally, other events were scheduled Monday in La Jolla, Chula Vista, Mira Mesa, Carlsbad, Rancho Bernardo and Escondido City Hall. The Service Employees International Union and the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council were among the local event organizers.

“Across San Diego County, SEIU locals are anchoring multiple coordinated events, under the ‘Workers Over Billionaires’ banner,” the SEIU said in a statement. “From downtown to Chula Vista, La Jolla, Mira Mesa, Carlsbad, and Escondido, members and allies are turning out to demand investment in schools, health care, housing, and climate action over corporate wealth. These actions highlight SEIU’s reach across diverse communities and show that working people: caregivers, educators, service and city workers are united in holding billionaires accountable and fighting for shared prosperity.”

A statement on the Mobilize Us website said billionaires “continue to wage a cruel war on working people, with their cronies in the administration, ICE and law enforcement backing up their attacks.”

Some of the demonstrations were also planned under the banner “Which Side Are You On?” after the 1931 song by labor activist Florence Reece that was used to delineate between United Mine Workers and their supporters in Harlan County, Kentucky and the mine owners and their “thugs.”

“There is no neutral ground in this fight,” said Brigette Browning, president of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO. “Just like the 1930s coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky, we are forced to choose: either you stand with the working class, or you enable the billionaires and politicians who are gutting our democracy and hoarding the wealth workers create.”

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told City News Service that “no one has done more for working men and women than President Trump. President Trump believes that American workers are the heart and soul of our economy, which is why he’s championed an agenda that always puts them first — from signing the largest middle-class tax cuts in history to securing nearly $10 trillion in new investments to create high-paying jobs across our country. Under President Trump’s leadership, Republicans are once again the proud party of the American worker.”

Christian Ramirez, political director and statewide vice president for SEIU-WW, said “Immigrant workers are essential, yet the billionaires treat them as expendable.

“Immigrant workers and their families that keep our society moving with their labor are terrorized by federal agents and exploited by bosses. This is the face of tyranny: scapegoating the vulnerable while relying on their labor. Our response is collective power. This Labor Day, we stand together — as workers, immigrants and citizens alike, as one movement for dignity.”

City News Service contributed to this article.