‘Workers Over Billionaires’: Richmond rally brings Labor Day to the streets

On Labor Day, Richmond joined dozens of cities across the country where workers and community members rallied under the banner “Workers Over Billionaires.”

In Richmond, the crowd gathered not for a barbecue but in front of the Frank Hagel Federal Building on Nevin Avenue, chanting and waving signs that read “Justice for students, not profits for billionaires” and “Teachers working conditions equal student learning conditions.”

The demonstration was organized by a coalition of labor unions, community groups, and immigrant rights advocates as part of a national day of action. Organizers said their aim was to push back against what they described as a “billionaire takeover” of government. They called for fully funded public schools, protection of Social Security and Medicaid, stronger immigrant protections, and greater investment in housing, health care, and community needs instead of policing and war.

Mitzi Perez, a Kennedy High School career technical education teacher and Richmond native, brought the focus to classrooms. Perez questioned why billionaires hold so much sway over decisions that affect students while teachers face low pay, job insecurity, and shrinking programs. Perez urged educators to prepare for a fight to defend their schools and their students.
“Why are billionaires valued over the masses? Why are they deciding what classes our students have and don’t have?” Perez said, “Enough is enough. It’s time to gear up and be strike-ready, because it’s coming.”

Union leader Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco, expanded the lens beyond Richmond, stressing that workers across the Bay Area and the country are facing similar threats from corporations and billionaires. Curiel pointed to attacks on public resources, the climate crisis, and widening inequality as linked struggles that can only be addressed through solidarity.
“It is important to understand what we are being attacked by,” Curiel said. “The billionaire class and their cronies continue to target all of the things that we, the people, use and that we expect to be robust and paid for. We expect that, and continue to be disappointed by the outcomes, because they are stealing our resources. They are hoarding their dollars and watching us suffer.”

The Community Police Review Commission Chair, Carmen Martinez, connected the labor fight to immigrant rights and racial justice, arguing struggles over wages, schools, policing, and immigration enforcement are all part of the same movement to protect human dignity. Martinez called on the community to reject fear and stand united against billionaires and the systems that profit from inequality.

“This is not just about wages and jobs, this is about dignity, equity, and safety,” Martinez said. “When we say workers over billionaires, we mean all workers, whether you crossed the border for a better life, whether you are teaching in a classroom, or whether you are caring for a family at home. When they come for one of us, they come for all of us.”

Councilmember Doria Robinson stressed public services are only as strong as the people who sustain them. Robinson warned that without investment in workers themselves, even programs like Social Security risk being hollow promises.
“One of the most important lessons that I am learning and I’m bringing to the city council is that buildings don’t make change. Hospitals don’t heal people, and streets don’t get repaired on their own. Libraries don’t open by themselves. Schools don’t teach kids. It is the people, the people and our labor and our unions that make that happen, and if we don’t invest there first, we have nothing but empty buildings and empty promises.

Councilmember Claudia Jimenez reminded the crowd that Labor Day is about honoring the victories of working people, but also confronting ongoing attacks on them. Jimenez spoke about corporations profiting while families face cuts to schools, housing, and health care, and framed the rally as part of a broader fight to hold the wealthy accountable. Jimenez also urged Richmond voters to defend the city’s progressive majority, which she said has been crucial in holding corporations accountable.

“We fight for health care as a human right, not a privilege for the wealthy. We fight for housing over billionaire profits,” Jimenez said. “Right here in Richmond, we are making sure corporations pay their fair share. We cannot allow an oligarch class to keep getting richer off the backs of working people while our schools, our families, and our democracy are under attack. We must keep the progressive majority on our city council if we want to continue standing up to corporations like Chevron and Amazon.”

The Richmond rally was one of dozens held across the country, with a shared set of demands: stop cuts to public programs, expand funding for education and health care, protect immigrant families, and redirect government spending from policing and war toward community needs.

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