About 250 demonstrators celebrated Labor Day at the Monroe County Courthouse for 50501’s “Workers over billionaires” rally Monday afternoon.
After singing songs, including the union hymn “Solidarity Forever,” speakers took the mic to share messages of courage and resistance against President Donald Trump. The demonstration in Bloomington coincides with 50501 protests across the nation to “stop the billionaire takeover,” according to the group.
The protesters shared a variety of concerns about the Trump administration, and what’s happening in Indiana, including threats to immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, reproductive access, Medicaid and the fate of Palestinians. The demonstrators later marched down Kirkwood Avenue to Indiana University’s Sample Gates.
Demonstrators draped the courthouse’s Peace Memorial with signs saying, “Grab him by the Epstein Files” — referring to files allegedly linking Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein. Another banner read, “Trump is a traitor.”
One speaker, Joseph Varga, an associate professor of labor studies at IU, said he and the demonstrators are not afraid of Trump or his cabinet.
“We are under attack,” Varga said. “Every time we don't fight back, they push more. Every time we don't resist, they push forward. So, fight back and resist now.”
Varga said Labor Day was made possible by American workers who fought and lost their lives. He said the law will always be on the side of the powerful.
“Let's remember, they can arrest us. They can beat us with their shields, like they did on Dunn Meadow,” Varga said. “They can deport us. They can detain us. They can fire us. They can extraordinarily render us. And as they are doing in Gaza, they can try to eliminate us. But we're not going anywhere.”
Don Jones, with Bloomington’s Episcopal Church, shared scriptures related to wealth and power, including Proverbs 29:12.
“Why don't you repeat that word after me?” Jones said to the crowd. “‘If a ruler pays attention to false information, all his officials will be liars. Amen.”
Brad Meyer, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, said Labor Day is a reminder that progressives and unions built the middle class over generations. Today, Meyer said older generations need to defend it.
“Paying it forward means making a stronger future for all of us and helping the next generation get launched,” Meyer said. “We have to vote out these people that are trying to extract everything they can out of our system, instead of looking at what it's going to be in the future.”
