Protestors filled the State House lawn and surrounding streets in Concord on Monday for a Labor Day rally to support workers’ rights and to speak out against Trump administration policies.
The protest drew around four thousand people, according to organizers with the New Hampshire chapter of 50501 – a network of groups that coordinates protests in different states. Protestors carried signs that advocated for several progressive causes, including LGBTQ rights, support for immigrants, and universal healthcare.
Speakers focused on wealth inequality, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and U.S. Representative Ro Khanna from California.
“Almost all of the wealth is in the hands of the 1%,” Sanders said. “It is not a radical idea to say that we deserve an economy and a government that works for all, and not just the billionaire class.”
Several protestors pointed to the growing power of billionaires as a problem facing the country, including Justin Monninger, who drove down from Warren.
He brought a sign speaking out against Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit that won a 2010 Supreme Court case that allowed corporations to make unlimited campaign contributions. Monninger supports reforms to campaign finance and the economy that he believes will make democracy better for middle class and working people
“Big money, dark money in politics is stealing any sort of representation that we have as middle class working people,” he said. “When you can funnel $1.1 billion into an election, how do people who make $45,000 a year even factor into a system like that?”
Monninger also brought plums from his backyard orchard to share with other protesters. His motto: “You can’t fight billionaires if you’re backed up. Have a free plum.”
For Rep. Alissandra Murray, a Democrat from Manchester, fighting for labor rights also means fighting for immigrant rights. As a first-generation Nicaraguan-American, they said that harming immigrant workers harms all workers.
“Immigrant workers have always been at the heart of the labor movement,” Murray said. “They built the mills in Manchester, stocked the farms across our state, and today they are the essential workers in our hospitals, our schools, our restaurants and our small businesses.”
