VERMONT – This Labor Day, labor unions, activist organizations, workers and others across Vermont joined with over 1,000 other gatherings across the United States to build solidarity among workers and oppressed groups and advocate for workers’ rights.
In Wolcott, organizers counted 95 people lining both sides of Vt. Rte. 15 through the village who gathered to advocate for workers over billionaires.
photo by Sheila Halpin
An estimated 2,500 Vermonters convened in Burlington where a picnic was held in Battery Park, with performances from local musical acts and both catered and food truck offerings.
A march through downtown followed with speeches from activists and labor leaders representing Vermont’s major employment sectors. They called attention to local workplace and labor issues, including staffing cuts at the Howard Center, the persecution of immigrants working in Vermont, and threats posed by cuts to Medicaid and social programs.
drone photo by K.C. Carpenter.
“We are here because we understand that a strong, unified and well-organized labor movement is not only a powerful inoculant against fascism, but the best way to build a democratic society of working-class people that puts community and planet over profit,” said Howard Center worker Andy Blanchet, President of AFSCME Local 1674.
photo by Sheila Halpin
This event marks the continued development of a coalition of labor unions and activist groups in Vermont working to push back against the Trump administration and its policies. Like the No Kings and May Day events before it, this protest occurred amidst escalating attacks on immigrants and student activists, funding cuts to government programs, and the rollback of hard-fought worker protections. Coalition organizers see this rally as part of a larger series of demonstrations across Vermont and the country, such as those led by the May Day Strong network, and they hope to carry this momentum forward in future events. Organizers are planning to hold a conference on October 25 at Winooski High School. The event is open to any who are interested in building a strong movement of working people to stand up to the billionaire class, ensure a political system that serves everyone and not just the rich, and defend the rights of workers and the oppressed.
photo by Terry J. Allen
This event was endorsed by: AFSCME Local 1674 Soteria House Workers’ Union Chapter, AFSCME Local 1674 Howard Center Worker’s Union Chapter, AFSCME Local 1674 Rights and Democracy Workers’ Union Chapter, AFSCME Local 1674 Spectrum Basic Needs Union Chapter, AFSCME Local 1674 St. Michael’s Custodians’ Union Chapter, AFT Vermont, Black Cap Union, Burlington Education Association, Cooperation Vermont, Education Justice Coalition of Vermont, Free Her Vermont, Gakru United, Green Mountain Democratic Socialists of America, Green Mountain IWW, Green Mountain Labor Council, Ishtar Collective, Jewish Voice for Peace VT/NH, MetroRock Staff United, Migrant Justice, Party for Socialism and Liberation,
Peace and Justice Center, People’s Kitchen, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England United, Porter Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, Rights and Democracy, Scoopers United, Standing Trees, Teamsters Local 597 Chittenden County Transportation Authority Chapter, Teamsters Local 597 Essex Junction Chapter, Teamsters Local 597 UPS Chapter, Tempest, Third Act VT, Trans+ VT, UFCW Local 1459, United Electrical Local 203, UVM Graduate Students United, UVM Medical Center Support Staff United, UVM Progressives, UVM Staff United, UVM Student Workers’ Union, UVM Students for Justice in Palestine, UVM United Academics, UVM United Electrical Local 267, UVM Young Democratic Socialists of America, Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals, Vermonters for People Oriented Places, VT AFL-CIO, VT Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, VT Labor for Palestine, VT National Education Association, VT School Workers United, VT State Employees Association, VT Workers Center/Nonviolent Medicaid Army, Will Miller Social Justice Lecture Series, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom Burlington, 50501, and 350 VT
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
The protestors are the modern Minute Men of our society. They are out there showing that they are ready to take on Epstein’s best friend and cohort in there acts of Pedophilia. The protestors are the true patriots and protector of our Constitutional rights. .
There were 57 colonists who signed the Declaration of Independence, they believed in the equality and rights that our nation was founded on. When the Tories and the British tried to stop them they did it with cruelty ( like today). 17 of the signers were killed, 8 of them had their houses burned, several had their wives and children killed, all of the others had their property taken away from them. The one thing they never did, They Did Not Back Down on what they believed in. They sacrificed everything but they were Patriots to the end. I hope we use this as our example and when you Thank God for our freedoms, thank these brave people who fought for the freedoms we have enjoyed for 250 years.
Here are few names of our forefathers that we should always honor and never forget.
James Otis he said “A man’s home is his castle.”, Patrick Henry ( Give me Liberty or give me death”, John Peter Zenger, ( Freedom of the Press”, Nathan Hale “ I regret I have but one life to give for my country”. Ben Franklin,, “𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗚𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗨𝗣 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝗧𝗬, 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗜𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗡𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝗧𝗬.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, (FREEDOM IS NEVER GIVEN BY THE OPPRESSOR IT MAKES THESE DEMANDS BY THE OPPRESSED”.
WE MUST REMEMBER ,WE MUST NEVER GIVE UP. CONGRESS IS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE, NOT THE, CULT OF ONE PERSON. AS SAID , NO KING , NO MAN IS ABOVE THE LAW. REPUBLICAN S WHO HAVE TAKEN THE OATH OF OFFICE , ALL HAVE BROKEN THAT OATH, THE SUPREME COURT HAS DONE THE SAME THING,—-“- I WILL PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION.OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”.THEY HAVE DISHORNED THIS OATH.”
To paraphrase FRANKLIN, IF WE AREN’T WILLING TO FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOMS, THEN WE DO NOT DESERVE THEM.