Mayor, protestors gather in West Loop on Monday for Labor Day Rally

CHICAGO — A Labor Day Rally devoted to promoting workers’ rights and opposing the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration is underway early Monday afternoon in the West Loop.

Chicago has played a large role in the country’s labor movement and in the formation of Labor Day, and the city has been a main target of the Trump administration’s focus on immigration and crime.

Those factors made for an interesting Labor Day Rally at the Haymarket Memorial, with Mayor Brandon Johnson among those in attendance. The mayor has been in national headlines in recent weeks, addressing the White House’s threats to send federal troops into Chicago.

Monday’s rally focused on workers’ rights and what protestors say is an attack on unions in favor of billionaires, with hundreds of demonstrators also marching downtown.

“We have stood up for workers before, and we will do it again,” Johnson said at the rally. “And no matter what comes from the White House, Chicago will always be a labor town.”

Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, also addressed protestors in the West Loop.

“We must demand a better life for all workers,” she said. “One job should be enough.”