by Jamil Ragland CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT — The mood at the Workers Over Billionaires rally at the state capitol on Labor Day was a mix of anger at President Donald Trump’s administration and an airing of grievances with American politics in general.
The gathering was part of a national wave of protests planned for Labor Day, themed to bring together community members in support of constitutional values and opposition to authoritarianism, organizers said.
Carly Corrigan, an organizer with CT 50501 and Moms Demand Action, recognized some of the past accomplishments of labor leaders across the nation in improving conditions for workers, but said that those gains are under attack due to an “obviously broken” system.
Protesters gathered at the state capitol on Labor Day, 2025 as part of the national Workers Over Billionaires protests. Credit: Jamil Ragland / CTNewsJunkie
“Here we are in 2025, at risk of losing more and more of our rights and liberties with each passing day and executive order,” she said. “We have a wannabe dictator sitting in the White House that cares more about the desires of billionaires than the needs of the working class. Meanwhile, many of us are living paycheck to paycheck. trying to pay our bills, working harder and longer hours, seeking out second jobs in order to put food on the table, all while sinking further and further into debt.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, said he took a photo of the several hundred protesters.
“I’m going to take this picture with me tomorrow when I go to Washington, D.C., and I’m going to say, ‘Hey, Donald Trump, this is what democracy looks like. This is what America looks like. It isn’t your billionaire buddies. It isn’t your crypto rich people,” he said. “America is working families. America is people who have the guts and gumption to come out on a Labor Day weekend to Connecticut’s capitol and say ‘we are ready to fight.’”
Support for Blumenthal wasn’t universal, though. Dan Garrett, challenged Blumenthal directly during his talk for his support of the Israeli actions in Gaza that some scholar groups have called a genocide.“We need to find new candidates to run for office,” Garrett said. “The Democratic Party has a dismal 34 percent approval rating. And when it comes to war and killing, they’re no different than the Republican Party.”