Juneau joins nationwide protest after celebrating Labor Day picnic to show ‘union power’
- Jasz Garrett
- Sep 3
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 4
The rally comes a day after more than a thousand protests “denounce billionaires”
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
In Juneau, 85 people gathered for a “Workers and Unions Over Billionaires” protest on Tuesday at Bill Overstreet Park. A coalition of labor and advocacy groups organized more than 1,000 events in more than 900 cities on Labor Day.
A blow-up “Chicken Trump” waved in the wind near the Tahku the Whale sculpture as tourists mingled through the crowd. The day before, many of the same protesters were at the annual Labor Day picnic hosted by the Juneau Central Labor Council at Savikko Park. In an interview, rally organizer Dune Rothman said that’s why Juneau Indivisible, ReSisters, ASEA/AFSCME Local 52, and Juneau for Democracy decided to hold the protest on Tuesday instead.
“Juneau has a much stronger labor presence and mindshare than in a lot of other places,” Rothman said. “In a lot of other places, there wasn’t a large Labor Day picnic. There wasn’t a large group of labor folks who did their own thing and went out and celebrated labor. We wanted to support labor and what labor was doing, and their organization and activism.”
After the scheduled speeches, Juneau for Democracy organizer Ariel Hasse-Zamudio invited public testimony on the grassy hill. She also encouraged people to donate to the Southeast Alaska Food Bank.
“This is about all of us,” Hasse-Zamudio said. “Not just one individual. All of our stories matter.”
Rothman said he was inspired to speak on Tuesday instead of staying in the background like he usually does.
He worked a total of 23 years in civil service, finishing his last eight years in Alaska. He said he came to “count fish,” working as an IT manager with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration before retirement. In his testimony, Rothman said he has seen “a steady decline in the capacity to organize and to bring back what workers deserve.”
“The theme really inspired me,” he told the Juneau Independent. “I thought it was important, and I think it’s a really important set of issues that are being addressed. I really have been over the course of my lifetime — our generation — watching the fruits of labor get steadily eroded, and the impact and the influence of labor be attacked, and really eroded as well.”
To him, the protest demonstrated the extent of unionization and labor in Alaska. Rothman said Juneau is still “stronger even than most.”
“Sometimes the fish don’t realize they’re wet,” he said.
The protest was a call to action for Eric Antrim, recording secretary of the National Federation of Federal Employees Local 251.
“For many, yesterday’s Labor Day holiday was a time for relaxing and picnicking. Personally, I think the time for resting on the laurels of our ancestors’ achievements has passed,” he said. “It’s time we grow up and start taking responsibility for our government and the world we live in.”
Juneau Assembly Member Paul Kelly said he comes from a family with a proud union tradition. As a state employee, Kelly is a member of ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 and a union steward.
“Not only do unions benefit a higher standard of living for families all over, but also it empowers us to speak up and it empowers us to be able to state our opinion — to hold the government accountable,” he told the crowd.
“What kind of power?” Kelly chanted.
“Union power,” the crowd shouted back.
Protesters expressed their anger at the invitation of tech CEOs to President Donald Trump's inauguration, his move to end collective bargaining with federal labor unions in agencies with national security missions, and, most recently, his removal of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntifer after she submitted a July jobs report with large downward revisions to previously announced employment numbers.
“This firing attempt is an attempt to conceal the true impact that Trump leadership has on American employment,” Hasse-Zamudio said.
Juneauites also shared sympathy for fired federal employees.
“How horrifying it must be for them to suddenly be without a job in a strange place,” Jane Hale said in a speech. She first came to Alaska in 1995 to work at NOAA and is now retired.
“When I come to these rallies, when I read the news, I think of the impact on the family, the mothers, the fathers, the children who work to keep this country running,” Hale said.
AFL-CIO, the country’s largest federation of labor unions, supported the nationwide theme denouncing billionaires. The Juneau event was an ongoing recognition of the May Day Strong Coalition's actions. At the Alaska State Capitol on International Workers’ Day, about 400 people stood against the Trump administration’s actions on labor protections, diversity initiatives, and federal employees.
At Tuesday’s rally, protesters shared concerns about a broad range of Trump administration actions, including cuts to Medicaid and the deployment of military troops in Democratic-led U.S. cities.
Although the Labor Day protest was smaller than previous demonstrations against Trump, protesters said it was still significant.
“It’s not how many people come — it’s just that we do it,” said Laura Statts, who opened the protest with a story about her grandmother being a union steward.
Jay Query joined the group that was carrying signs and U.S. flags toward the Douglas Bridge.
“Everybody that shows up counts,” he said.
The Hurff A. Saunders Federal Building could be seen in the distance as people drove by, honking and waving. Query said he feels the impact of fired U.S. Forest Service employees. He said he also worries about the future of receiving emergency alerts through public broadcasting and the National Weather Service.
“It’s scary when the weather service is threatened,” he said. “That’s really important if you’re Alaskan and you’re out on the water a lot.”
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
