While Hundreds March Others Sing in Protest at Pasadena Labor Day Rally

Hundreds of demonstrators converged on Pasadena City Hall Monday morning for a spirited Labor Day rally and march that organizers billed as a call to “put workers over billionaires.” 

By mid-morning, the crowd had swelled to line four blocks of Colorado Boulevard, chanting and waving handmade placards as they marched from City Hall to Paseo Pasadena. 

Pasadena-based activist musicians Russell Mark and Mika Larson — known collectively as The NextDoors — led the protesters with acoustic guitar, cello, and spirited protest songs. 

Part of hundreds of nationwide demonstrations, locally coordinated by Indivisible SGV (formerly NELA Indivisible) and local labor allies, the event sought to draw attention to wage inequities, union struggles, and what organizers described as an “urgent need” for stronger worker protections. 

Under a hot late-summer sun, participants gathered on the City Hall steps for speeches by U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, Pasadena Unified School District Board member Patrice Marshall McKenzie, and State Assemblymember John Harabedian. 

Harabedian, a former immigration attorney whose district includes Pasadena, told the crowd that economic inequality remains one of the most pressing issues in California politics. 

“Labor Day isn’t just a day off work — it’s a reminder that every right we enjoy was fought for by working people,” he said, drawing loud cheers.

He highlighted the state’s recent efforts to strengthen workplace safety laws and expand collective bargaining rights, framing those victories as “a beginning, not an endpoint.” 

“We must resist the trend of wealth and power being concentrated in fewer and fewer hands,” Harabedian added. “When workers thrive, our democracy thrives.” 

State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez was adamant as she told the demonstrators, “It’s so important that we gather together to honor labor and all of the rights that they have fought for over the years because we know that this administration is attacking union members is attacking and taking away the good paying jobs that so many of our union members have fought for the rights that are protecting workers. And we have to tell Trump, ‘No more, no more!’” 

Briggs said they deliberately timed the march, their sixth since February, for the Labor Day holiday to focus attention on California’s upcoming Proposition 50 ballot measure: “The Election Rigging Response Act“, which would temporarily redraw California election maps to gain Democrats 5 seats. This is being done in response to Texas’ mid-census redrawing of their state’s maps in order to gain 5 Republican seats.

“Prop 50 is about Democrats finally fighting back against Republicans.  The stakes are critical because the upcoming elections for the next 4 years will determine whether we can keep our democracy or fall into a fully authoritarian state.”

Briggs also used the occasion to issue a challenge to his own party.

“Democrats have to fight harder — much harder — if we’re going to win on this measure and on protecting basic worker rights,” he said. “The other side is organized, they’re well-funded, and they’re coming after every gain workers have made in the last 50 years. We need to be just as relentless.” 

After the formal speeches, The NextDoors led the protesters onto Garfield Avenue and south toward Colorado Boulevard. Passing motorists honked in raucous support. 

The event’s festive atmosphere — homemade signs reading “Tax the Rich” and “Unions Build Democracy” — belied the serious message of the day. For many participants, it was as much about visibility as about legislation. 

“People need to see that we are not going away,” said David Salazar of South Pasadena, as he waved a placard at onlookers. 

Organizers said they plan to keep the momentum going through voter-registration drives and town hall meetings leading up to November. Briggs was blunt about the stakes. 

“This is about the kind of state we want to live in,” he said. “Are we going to build a California where working people can afford to stay, or one where billionaires own everything and the rest of us are priced out? That’s what’s on the ballot.” 

At Paseo Pasadena, the chants echoed through the corridor of shops and restaurants. 

For a holiday traditionally associated with barbecues and beach outings, Monday’s event was a striking reminder that Labor Day still has its roots in protest — and that, in Pasadena at least, the fight for workers’ rights is still full speed ahead.