This story was updated Sept. 2 with new information.
If 10-year-old Christian Savitskie breaks a leg, his dad could lose his job.
That is, if Eric Savitskie didn’t have benefits — such as time off to take care of an injured or sick child — afforded to him through the work of his union, the 34-year-old Southgate dad said, as he stood with his family amongst thousands of union members and allies at the annual Labor Day parade in Detroit.
Sheet metal workers, police lieutenants, health care workers, teachers and auto material handlers like Savitskie, came out strong Monday, Sept. 1, with loved ones in tow to celebrate laborers, and speak out for unions and workers’ rights. In turn, they called attention to the reason so many do what they do – their children.
Numerous wagons with sleepy looking toddlers, double strollers and tiny tennis shoes journeyed just under a mile down Michigan Avenue to the newly refurbished Michigan Central Station in Corktown along with blaring horns, marching bands and workers on Labor Day.
The parade’s aim this year was to focus on the rank-and-file workers trying to support their families and live their lives, IBEW Local 58 business agent and organizer Byron Osbern said ahead of time.
To that end, politicians were welcome to march in support of workers in their official capacity but asked not to take the microphone, Osbern said.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running for governor as an independent, marched with plumbers. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II, both Democratic candidates for governor, were spotted as well. And candidates to take Duggan’s seat in Detroit, City Council President Mary Sheffield and Rev. Solomon Kinloch, hit the street, too.
It was union leaders such as UAW President Shawn Fain who spoke to the crowd.
Fain addresses Labor Day rally in Detroit
Fain noted unions like SEIU Healthcare Michigan are in an active fight.
The healthcare union announced Aug. 31 that a 10-day strike notice was sent to Optalis Health and Rehabilitation Center of Bloomfield Hills over a pay cut of up to $10 that was expected to go into effect on Labor Day.
The move would “jeopardize residents’ care” and violate the union contract, according to a news release from the union.
Leadership at Optalis is working to reach a fair and constructive resolution, said Stephanie Greazel, Optalis public relations director, in an emailed statement Tuesday, Sept. 2.
The location in Bloomfield Hills was acquired by Optalis earlier this summer, and Greazel said the company must now “operate in a sustainable manner, which includes market adjustments of wage levels” that led to financial strife for the prior owner. She said the company did not assume the union contract from the prior owner.
“We remain committed to offering competitive wages, while also ensuring that this vital healthcare center remains fiscally viable to serve the local community’s needs for years to come,” she said.
Solidarity doesn’t always mean agreeing, but it does mean fighting together, Fain said. The unions have each other’s backs, as well as the backs of immigrant workers facing racist attacks.
Those in power have blamed workers over the years, saying their pensions and pay were too much while at the same time lining their own pockets, Fain said.
“When we fight together, no corporation, no administration and no billionaire can stand against us,” Fain said.
Fighting for the working class
The parade and rally took place as protests against the Trump administration this year continued on Sept. 1 across the country with so-called “Workers Over Billionaires” actions.
The parade itself carried some of the spirit of the nationwide “Workers Over Billionaires” action, even if it was a different event, said Detroit-raised Marquenta Jackson, 40, now of Southfield.
She’s a hi-lo driver for Ford, part of a local unit within the UAW and brought her daughter, 11-year-old Bella Rue Williams, to show her how people can come together for a common goal. In this case, that’s the labor movement.
“We’re all here to say: ‘We’re here, we’re all human and we make your company,’” Jackson said. “We deserve respect. We deserve to have our rights — to be treated like we’re human.”
Jackson described herself as more neutral/conservative and said she doesn’t agree with all the opinions of the protest groups that have mobilized against President Donald Trump this year. But some marched at the Detroit gathering Sept. 1, and Jackson noted some are laborers too.
She appreciated the support for workers’ rights.
Among the regular protesters against the Trump administration who joined the Detroit parade Monday were members from Indivisible activist groups.
They carried signs showing support for organized labor, including ones that read “A living wage is a moral issue” and marched near the end of the parade in solidarity with the workers. Organizers had OK’d this, along with the participation of community groups including sororities and fraternities, Osbern previously said.
At the very back of the mass of thousands, a little over 100 people marched with Palestinian flags and chanted “Free, free Palestine” while calling for an end to the deaths in Gaza amid Israel’s war. They then gathered near the labor-focused rally in front of Michigan Central with their own microphone, though it could not be heard over the union speakers unless approached.
Labor Day speakers lambast Trump administration
Speakers at the event such as Evelyn DeJesus of the American Federation of Teachers, Kevin Mapp of United Steelworkers and Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, denounced the Trump administration’s work.
DeJesus raised alarm on the rolling back of instructions for English learners. Mapp said there was an assault on federal workers, clean water and vaccines. Kelley spoke about the thousands of federal workers laid off.
The unions have to fight as family, he said.
Ahead of Sept. 1, the White House provided a quote from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to USA Today about Labor Day:
“We finally have a President who fights and delivers for the American worker every single day. President Trump believes that American workers are the heart and soul of our economy and our national identity, which is why he’s championed an agenda that puts them first always,” she said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment from USA Today regarding the protests.
The national protest gained traction in Troy, where more than 200 people gathered on East Big Beaver Road at Rochester Road, decrying policies of the Trump administration including the treatment of immigrants, tariffs and federal worker terminations.
Among the crowd was Kellie Backer, 49, of Detroit, who said she found her passion for activism this year after Trump returned to the White House and began “trampling all over our Constitution.” Backer said she wanted to be more involved this time around after sitting back and watching Trump’s first term as president.
“I wanted to be more on the right side of history,” Backer said. “I don’t want to look back at this time and feel like I did absolutely nothing.”
The focus on Labor Day
The Labor Day gathering in Detroit is about “valuing the work and valuing people’s lives,” said Alex Kurple, 50, of Grosse Pointe.
Kurple, who is a metal model worker in the auto industry, was there with his wife and three children — the youngest of whom was born during the UAW strike in 2023.
She was very nearly named Solidarity, the parents said.
Free Press reporter Eric Guzmán contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: Numerous Free Press staff members are in a local union that has taken part in the annual parade.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Thousands of union members, loved ones march in Detroit Labor Day parade
Reporting by Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
