Hundreds of Filipino Americans join the “No Kings” protest on June 15 at Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles. CONTRIBUTED
LOS ANGELES — On Monday, Labor Day, two powerful mobilizations by Filipino American communities and organizations are set to unfold: the “Workers Over Billionaires” rally in Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles, followed by a national migrant caravan converging on the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington.
Organizers said these coordinated actions highlight the power of migrant workers and their allies to resist economic inequality, authoritarian crackdowns and human rights abuses.
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Historic Filipinotown mural by Eliseo Silva. CONTRIBUTED
‘Workers Over Billionaires’
In Los Angeles, activists, labor organizations and Filipino American community members will gather at Unidad Park in Historic Filipinotown from 10 a.m. to noon. The rally, dubbed “Workers Over Billionaires,” aims to draw attention to widening economic inequality and immigrant rights while linking local struggles to the broader national labor movement.
Hosted by Indivisible HiFi/Echo Park and Filipino American Lakas Alliance, the event will feature speeches, performances and a community march through the neighborhood.
Organizers emphasized that the rally is about more than wages and labor conditions – it is also a fight to defend democracy, civil rights and the dignity of marginalized communities.
Gateway to Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles. CONTRIBUTED
“Labor and community are planning more than a barbecue on Labor Day this year because we have to stop the billionaire takeover,” said the organizers in a joint statement. “Billionaires are converting the government into their private slush fund and just passed the largest wealth giveaway in the history of the US. The money they take from working families, they put in billionaires’ pockets and set aside to fund a private army of ICE agents.”
Just like any bad boss, organizers say, the way to stop the takeover is with collective action. “We are working people rising up to stop the billionaire takeover – not just through the ballot box or the courts, but through building a bigger and stronger movement. We are growing our movement and fighting for a country that is fair, just, equitable, and free for all of us – and not just for a chosen few.”
Organizers have laid out a clear set of demands that reflect the values of the movement: stopping the billionaire takeover of government, defending essential programs like Medicaid and Social Security, and ensuring fully funded schools, universal healthcare and affordable housing.
They are calling for an end to attacks on immigrants, Black, Indigenous, and trans communities, and insisting that the country invest in people instead of wars. Central to these actions, they emphasize, is a deep commitment to nonviolent protest.
Participants are asked to de-escalate confrontation whenever possible, and organizers stress that weapons of any kind – even those legally permitted – have no place at the events.
‘Walang Hari sa America’ (No Kings in America)
The demonstration builds on momentum from the June 15 “Walang Hari sa America (No Kings in America)” protest at the same park, where hundreds rallied against President Trump’s militarization of US cities.
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At that event, organizer Joe Arciaga declared that “there are no kings in America,” underscoring the community’s resistance to authoritarian rule. The June 15 protest brought together Filipino American artists, veterans and grassroots groups committed to the principles of bayanihan (solidarity) and people power.
The Sept. 1 Labor Day rally in Los Angeles will continue the momentum launched on the June 15 “No Kings” protest. As with the previous event, thousands of participants are expected to be out marching in the streets, or protesting outside the offices of corporate actors accused of fueling economic and political inequality, and at congressional offices.
Later that afternoon, a second front in the Labor Day mobilizations will unfold in Tacoma, Washington. Beginning at 1:30 p.m., a national migrant caravan will converge at the Northwest Detention Center on East J Street, where hundreds of migrants, their families and supporters are expected to rally until 3:30 p.m.
Migrant caravan
The caravan is being organized by the International Migrants Alliance, Tanggol Migrante Movement and the Families of Filipinos in Detention.
Migrant-led grassroots organizations from across the United States are sending delegations to demand the release of detainees, to denounce human rights violations inside NWDC and to address what they describe as the “root causes of forced migration.”
Tacoma has become a focal point in the migrant rights struggle over the past six months. In a statement to media, Tanggol Migrante said activists have secured the release of several detainees, including Maximo “Kuya Max” Londonio, whose case drew widespread attention after weeks in solitary confinement, and Lewelyn “Aunty Lynn” Dixon, a longtime US resident who was detained despite 50 years of lawful residency. Another detainee, Victor Manuel Arces, has reportedly ended a hunger strike recently inside NWDC, highlighting ongoing concerns over conditions at the facility
The Labor Day mobilization is part of the Defend Migrant Workers campaign, launched nationally in December 2024. Organizers said it consolidates individual victories into a unified show of strength against what they call an “escalating authoritarian crackdown” under the Trump administration.
The twin actions in Los Angeles and Tacoma are part of a larger wave of more than 1,000 “Workers Over Billionaires” rallies planned nationwide.
According to USA Today, protests are scheduled in nearly every state, bringing together unions, advocacy groups and local coalitions.
Saqib Bhatti, executive director of the Action Center on Race and the Economy, described Labor Day 2025 as “a big show of force” against billionaires driving government policy. Education and labor leaders like Becky Pringle of the National Education Association have emphasized that these protests are about defending democracy itself.
Organizers of the Los Angeles and Tacoma events echo this sentiment, emphasizing that the fight for migrant rights and workers’ rights are inseparable and that for Filipino Americans and other immigrant communities, Labor Day serves as both a commemoration of past struggles and a commitment to ongoing resistance.
