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Sanders, Jackson, Platner Take Aim at Oligarchy With Maine Labor Day Rally
"We do not live in a system that is broken. We live in a system that is functioning exactly as it is intended," said Graham Platner, running for US Senate. "We live in a system that has been built by the political class to enrich and support billionaires on the backs of working people."
Sep 02, 2025
Sen. Bernie Sanders headlined a Labor Day rally in downtown Portland, Maine on Monday as part of his ongoing "Fighting Oligarchy" tour, where he joined hands in solidarity with the two candidates—Troy Jackson and Graham Platner—both of whom embrace the Vermont independent's democratic socialist message and a critique that argues concentrated wealth and power have corrupted both major political parties at the expense of working people.
Platner, an oysterman from the small coastal town of Sullivan seeking to win the Democratic primary in order to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2026, launched his campaign last month by stating flatly that "the oligarchy is the enemy."
During his remarks Monday at the Cross Insurance Arena, Platner brought the crowd of over 6,500 people to their feet multiple times by blasting the ruling class and lamenting the struggle of too many Maine families.
"Politicians have made a series of decisions over the last 40 years that have resulted in the world that we see today. Their choices have left many of us with very little while, very few accrue vast amounts of wealth," he declared. "In 1990, there were less than 100 billionaires in the United States—today there are over 800. I ask you: when you look around, do you see a community and a state that is eight times wealthier than it was in 1990?"
Sanders rally with Graham Platner and Troy Jackson
"Much of the world that we have today is the specific result of policy choices made by establishment politicians. And the shameful truth of all of this is the blame cannot simply be left at the feet of one political party," said Platner. "We have two parties that want the votes of working people, but neither has done anything lately to earn it. No one is owed allegiance. Support must be earned and that will never happen as long as Democrats are part of the same corporate apparatus that the Republicans are."
Platner's bid against Collins, who has held the seat in the US Senate since 1997, is seen by some political observers as a long shot, but Platner was emphatic that voters in Maine are no longer fooled by what he described as her political "charade" in which she postures as a moderate while backing President Donald Trump's far-right, pro-corporate agenda.
"No one cares that you pretend to be remorseful as you sell out to lobbyists," Planter said of Collins. "No one cares while you sell out to corporations and no one cares while you sell out to a president who are all engineering the greatest redistribution of wealth,—from the working class to the ruling class—in American history."
"Symbolic opposition does not reopen hospitals," he continued, referencing the destruction repercussions of Collins' support for the GOP megabill earlier this year that will strip hundreds of billions from Medicaid. "Weak condemnations do not bring back Roe v. Wade. Sellling out the same working class voters who've delivered mandate for change after mandate for change is not forgivable. A performative politics that enables the destruction of our way of life is disqualifying for the role of United States Senator."
Platner drove home his message that the ruling class, both in Maine and nationwide, is at the heart of the struggles and challenged the idea that voters don't understand the term "oligarchy"—something that segments of the Democratic Party establishment have argued as Sanders toured the country this summer with his message.
"I keep getting told that voters don't know what that word means," said Platner. "But from the standing ovation, I assume everybody knows what it means because we know what's happening when we're getting robbed blind. But let's be clear, we do not live in a system that is broken. We live in a system that is functioning exactly as it is intended. We live in a system that has been built by the political class to enrich and support billionaires on the backs of working people."
The state of Maine, he declared amid a standing ovation, "deserves better than Susan Collins and Maine deserves an alternative who is not at risk of being mistaken as being beholden to the same status quo that she is. I am running because it is time for change."
Planter vowed to "beat back fascism," called for defense of democracy, and said people must embrace a notion of freedom that goes beyond a "romantic freedom"—one that recognizes the affordability crisis that makes life so difficult for working people.
What people need, he said, is a "freedom to not be condemned to scraps and to struggle, but to live with the dignity and fulfillment that gives us the society we deserve. Where instead of dreaming of a life where we can get by, we can afford a life that allows us to dream."
Following Platner, Troy Jackson, a seventh-generation logger from northern Maine who turned to politics on a working-class platform and rose to become president of the State Senate, is among those seeking to become the next governor of Maine when Gov. Janet Mills, also a Democrat, leaves office next year.
"I'm running because it's time to put power back in the hands of the people," said Jackson, after recounting his days in the woods, struggling to provide for his family while the wealthy owners of the logging companies grew ever richer and ever greedier.
"I'm running for governor because the American dream of putting down roots and owning a home and being able to provide for your family with a good-paying job is moving way out of reach," said Jackson. "I am running for the people who worked their entire lives and still can't afford to retire because the economic system in this country is rigged against them. And I'm running for all the workers who've been told to do or go home who've been told that they're replaceable and that their lives are disposable."
Like Platner, Jackson railed against the "status quo" and while he credited Democrats in the state for doing many important things over recent years, also admitted the party had fallen "woefully short" on many issues.
During his speech to conclude the rally, Sanders said this year's Labor Day comes at a perilous time in US history, with Trump's authoritarianism coinciding—and not coincidentally—with obscene levels of economic and political inequality.
Sanders said that the hundreds of thousands of people he has now spoken to as part of the "Fighting Oligarchy" tour have made it clear to him that there is a shared set of beliefs that can overturn the assault on democracy and working people that Trump is now leading.
"We have been to 15 states—and now I can say from Maine to California and a lot of states in between. And we've talked to over 300,000 people," said Sanders. "And what I can tell you without any fear of contradiction is the American people do not want an oligarchic form of government."
"They do not want to live under a kleptocracy where a president gets rich by being president and they sure as hell a sick and tired of the ongoing war of the rich against the working class of this country," he continued. "This is an unprecedented and, in fact, dangerous moment in American history and we have got to respond in an unprecedented way. And the way we respond is to build the kind of strong, progressive grassroots movement, the likes of which this country has never seen."
Echoing Platner, Sanders said that simply denouncing and confronting the Republicans will not be enough to turn the tide.
"What we need to do—which the Democratic Party, the leadership does not do—is have a vision of where we want this country to be," said Sanders.
"What I am begging of you is don't think small, think big," he continued, championing Medicare for All, robust support for public education, an end to disastrous US foreign policy—including support for the Israeli assault on Gaza, an expansion of Social Security, and serious efforts to curb rising food costs and the housing crisis that is crushing working people from coast to coast.
"Brothers and sisters, we got to be thinking outside the box in this state. We got to elect Graham and we got to elect Troy and other good people, but they can't do it alone," said Sanders.
The trick of the ruling class, he told the crowd, is "they basically try to say that ordinary people are powerless."
"What they're saying is they have all the money, they have all of the power, you got nothing. And they can do anything they want and you can't stop them," Sanders continued. "Well, I think we've got some news for them. Not only can we stop them, not only will we stop them, but for the future of this country and in fact the world, we must, must stop them today."
"On Labor Day—when we thank the unions for all they have done for the working class of this country—we understand and remember what a union is," he concluded. "A union is the understanding that one person cannot do it alone. That we all have got to come together to fight with and for each other. And what the union movement is about is solidarity forever."
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Americans Take to the Streets for 1,000+ 'Workers Over Billionaires' Labor Day Rallies
"Workers are fighting for a society where public schools take precedence over private profits, healthcare is prioritized over hedge funds, and affordable housing is valued more than homelessness," said May Day Strong.
Sep 01, 2025
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates.
Americans turned out across the United States on Monday for more than 1,000 demonstrations against President Donald Trump and other oligarchs "to reclaim worker power against billionaires who hoard unprecedented wealth and power."
The "Workers Over Billionaires" protests are being led by the May Day Strong Coalition, which is made up of dozens of organizations including the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, National Union of Healthcare Workers, and advocacy groups like Americans for Tax Fairness, Indivisible, Our Revolution, and Public Citizen.
Demonstrations took place or are set to happen in big cities, small towns, and communities in between all across the nation. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) spoke at a rally in Concord, New Hampshire, where Sanders—whose "Fight Oligarchy Tour" has been drawing huge crowds across the country—vowed that "together, we will create an economy and government that work for all, not just the 1%."
Khanna said that "today on Labor Day, we must recognize the workers across the country who build our economy and strengthen our nation. We need to fight for a living wage and stronger unions as we work to reindustrialize America."
Sanders took his Fighting Oligarchy Tour to Portland, Maine on Monday, where he was joined by guests including Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who is running to unseat five-term Republican US Sen. Susan Collins.
In a video posted on the social media site Bluesky before the rally, Platner said he "could not think of a better day to be a pro-labor candidate."
"Organized labor is the basis of the movement that we are going to have to build to retake this country for working people," Platner added.
May Day Strong said Monday's mobilizations aim "to build collective action against billionaires taking over the US government."
"Building upon momentum from May Day, Good Trouble Lives On, No Kings, and key impromptu actions in the streets and the workplace, Workers Over Billionaires will reach communities nationwide, tapping rural and city workers to stop the billionaire agenda that continues to burden everyone," the coalition said. "As the federal government continues to enable the ultrarich, working people are stepping onto pavement to stop their greed and protect their families."
"Working families want to live in a country that puts workers over billionaires," the coalition added. "Workers are fighting for a society where public schools take precedence over private profits, healthcare is prioritized over hedge funds, and affordable housing is valued more than homelessness."
In New York, actions included a rally outside Trump Tower in Manhattan, where demonstrators demanded a $30 an hour minimum wage. Members of groups including One Fair Wage (OFW) staged a "Restaurant in the Street" demonstration "designed to highlight the struggle of working people and launch the New York Living Wage for All campaign."
"The action coincides with the release of a new OFW report, Making America Affordable Now: The Case for a Living Wage for All, which finds that nearly half of US workers—67 million people—earn less than $25 an hour," One Fair Wage said. "In New York, 41% of workers fall below that threshold."
OFW said that the demand for a living wage is the "next generation of the Fight for $15," warning that "past wage gains have been erased by historic inflation, skyrocketing rents, and cuts to Medicaid and SNAP," the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"It also highlights how gimmicks like Trump's 'No Tax on Tips' proposal do little to address workers' needs, since two-thirds of tipped workers earn too little to benefit," OFW added.
In Chicago, at least hundreds of people from dozens of groups including the Chicago Teachers Union, Teamsters, and healthcare and hospitality workers rallied against Trump's Project 2025-inspired evisceration of federal agencies and the social safety net.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson denounced Trump's threat to send federal forces into the Windy City in a similar occupation to the one underway in Washington, DC, leading chants of "No troops in Chicago! No troops in Chicago! Invest in Chicago!"
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten told Chicago protesters that "what has happened in this country is that the billionaires don't understand this country was created in protest and resistance to fight off a king, not to recreate a king."
Chicago protester Mark Petersen told NBC Chicago: "I think solidarity among workers is probably the most important thing we can do right now. We're looking at our country get disassembled from the top down, and the best thing we can do is unite from the bottom up."
Hotel workers at the Hilton Americas-Houston downtown went on strike before dawn Monday, demanding a $23 hourly minimum wage. They kicked off their planned nine-day strike with a protest at 6:00 am, during which workers chanted, "Aquí estamos, y no nos vamos"—"We are here, and we won't leave."
"The workers are feeling this need urgently," Franchesca Caraballo, president of Unite Here Local 23's Texas chapter. "We have to take it up several notches here to turn up the pressure on this company."
In Indianapolis, marchers chanted, "No fascists, support unions, support workers."
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said ahead of the protests: "Every single thing working people have won for ourselves in this country's history—it's not because we asked those in power. It's not because they were handed to us. It's because we fought for them relentlessly."
Saqib Bhatti, executive director of Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), told USA Today that "it's important to show that there is opposition to the Trump-billionaire agenda in every community, big and small; it's not just cities that are united against what's happening... it's all towns, it's small towns that voted overwhelmingly for Trump."
Monday also saw the launch of the Department of Class Solidarity (DOCS), "a permanent national war room tracking nearly 1,000 US billionaires, their wealth, corporate holdings, and political contributions."
"This Labor Day weekend, we are not resting," DOCS said on social media. "The oligarchs are snatching away our healthcare, our livelihoods, and our rights. Now is the time to act."
DOCS and allied groups rallied for a "Hamptons Billionaire Shutdown" on Long Island.
🔥 March on Billionaires Lane in the Hamptons — one of the densest concentrations of billionaires in the world.Oligarchs are hiding in their mansions as they bankroll attacks on us with fortunes they plundered from us.The working class is rising. ✊ #PeopleOverBillionaires #FightOligarchy
[image or embed]
— Our Revolution (@our-revolution.bsky.social) September 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM
"The Hamptons is where right-wing billionaires like Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb plot and plan in their hundred-million-dollar mansions, ensconced from the workers they exploit," DOCS said. "Time to give them a taste of their own medicine."
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'Brazenly Anti-Worker': Labor Day Reports Highlight Trump Attacks on Unions
"This is a government that is by, and for, the CEOs and billionaires," said AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler.
Sep 01, 2025
Although US President Donald Trump's administration likes to boast that he puts "American workers first," several news reports published on Monday document the president's attacks on the rights of working people and labor unions.
As longtime labor reporter Steven Greenhouse explained in The Guardian, Trump throughout his second term has "taken dozens of actions that hurt workers, often by cutting their pay or making their jobs more dangerous."
Among other things, Greenhouse cited Trump's decision to halt a regulation intended to protect coal miners from lung disease, as well as his decision to strip a million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights.
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, told Greenhouse that Trump's actions amount to a "big betrayal" of his promises to look out for US workers during the 2024 presidential campaign.
"His attacks on unions are coming fast and furious," she said. "He talks a good game of being for working people, but he's doing the absolute opposite. This is a government that is by, and for, the CEOs and billionaires."
Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, similarly told Greenhouse that Trump has been "absolutely, brazenly anti-worker," and she cited him ripping away an increase in the minimum wage for federal contractors that had been enacted by former President Joe Biden as a prime example.
"The minimum wage is incredibly popular," she said. "He just took away the minimum wage from hundreds of thousands of workers. That blew my mind."
NPR published its own Labor Day report that zeroed in on how the president is "decimating" federal employee unions by issuing March and August executive orders stripping them of the power to collectively bargain for better working conditions.
So far, nine federal agencies have canceled their union contracts as a result of the orders, which are based on a provision in federal law that gives the president the power to terminate collective bargaining at agencies that are primarily involved with national security.
The Trump administration has embraced a maximalist interpretation of this power and has demanded the end of collective bargaining at departments that aren't primarily known as national security agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Weather Service.
However, Trump's attacks on organized labor haven't completely intimidated government workers from joining unions. As the Los Angeles Times reported, the Trump administration's cuts to the National Park Service earlier this year inspired hundreds of workers at the California-based Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon national parks to unionize.
Although labor organizers had been trying unsuccessfully for years to get park workers to sign on, that changed when the Trump administration took a hatchet to parks' budgets and enacted mass layoffs.
"More than 97% of employees at Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks who cast ballots voted to unionize, with results certified last week," wrote the Los Angeles Times. "More than 600 staffers—including interpretive park rangers, biologists, firefighters, and fee collectors—are now represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees."
Even so, many workers who succeed in forming unions may no longer get their grievances heard given the state of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
As documented by Timothy Noah in The New Republic, the NLRB is now "hanging by a thread" in the wake of a court ruling that declared the board's structure to be unconstitutional because it barred the president from being able to fire NLRB administrative judges at will.
"The ruling doesn't shut down the NLRB entirely because it applies only to cases in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, where the 5th Circuit has jurisdiction," Noah explained. "But Jennifer Abruzzo, who was President Joe Biden's NLRB general counsel, told me that the decision will 'open the floodgates for employers to forum-shop and seek to get injunctions' in those three states."
Noah noted that this lawsuit was brought in part by SpaceX owner and one-time Trump ally Elon Musk, and he accused the Trump NLRB of waging a "half-hearted" fight against Musk's attack on workers' rights.
Thanks to Trump and Musk's actions, Noah concluded, American oligarchs "can toast the NLRB's imminent destruction."
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