This Labor Day, a crowd of a couple hundred people, including Davidson students and former professors, gathered in Huntersville to advocate for a timely cause for the day: #WorkersOverBillionaires. Holding signs with slogans such as “We Want Democracy” and “Stop Cuts to Veterans’ Healthcare,” the protestors cheered at honking cars that passed by the corner of Sam Furr Road and Statesville Road.
The demonstration was organized by Indivisible Lake Norman, the local chapter of a nationwide grassroots organization that works to elect progressive representatives. Many such demonstrations occurred around the country as part of the larger #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day mobilization organized by Indivisible.
“This is a small demonstration, because we’re a small community, you know, but in the big cities, they’re turning out thousands, tens of thousands of people,” Alan Singerman, a former French professor at Davidson who attended the event, said.
The demonstration focused on protesting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this summer. The wide-spanning bill includes cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), while increasing the military and ICE budget. The bill is estimated to add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years.
The description of the event included a varied list of demands like protection of Medicaid and other programs and “healthcare and housing for all.”
Many attendees held signs with slogans such as “Hands Off!” and “No Kings,” referencing previous nationwide demonstrations against the controversial actions of the Trump administration, including increased ICE raids and the dismantling of government offices such as the Department of Education.
“[We’re] letting the government know that this is unacceptable, what’s going on in this country right now is unacceptable,” Singerman said. “We have to do something to let the public know that we refuse what’s going on in Washington [D.C.], what the Trump administration is doing.”
Chris Wolak, another demonstrator, made a similar point. “I don’t know why anybody is not here,” Wolak said. “Trump is tearing down everything that [Americans] said they valued, [and] they’re letting him. We have to show everybody that it’s okay to say some things are just not okay.”
Diane Holores co-founded the Indivisible Lake Norman chapter and helped organize the Labor Day protest. She discussed the community aspect of public demonstrations.
“When you’re home alone, you keep thinking you’re the only one, and you get worried, and you get anxious, and you don’t know what to do,” Holores said. “But when you get a couple of people, even two or three together, suddenly you’re a community, and you support one another, and the community just grows.”
Jake McGraw ‘25 explained his reason for demonstrating.
“I spent a fair bit of time at the College studying the various phases of the Russian oligarchy, and I was drawing parallels that scared me,” McGraw said.
“We live in a country that seemingly increasingly strives to benefit the ultra-wealthy elite at the cost of the rest of the population. I’m tired of hearing how the people who keep our country running struggle to make ends meet while Jeff Bezos rents Venice for a wedding.”
Others cited a sense of duty when describing why they were demonstrating.
“I just need to do my part, because I’m old and I want to leave this world better for young people,” Sherry Washam, another attendee, said. Washam added that although she was a registered Democrat, she had voted for Republican candidates before.
“I did not say that everything that the Democratic president did was correct, and I don’t say that everything that Donald Trump does is incorrect,” Washam said. “But I cannot sleep at night because there are ten things every day that I think are done illegally, or to hurt people, or in a hateful manner.”
Washam emphasized the importance of mobilizing on Labor Day. “I just think it’s really important to remember that somebody has to do the real work, and we still haven’t increased the wages for so many workers,” Washam said. “They’re the ones who are really needed. They do the real work.”
Holores stressed the importance of solidarity. “To organize on Labor Day is to stand with the workers of the United States,” Holores said.
“Whether they’re teachers, whether they are immigrants, it doesn’t matter. They’re the backbone of this economy [and] the backbone of the country […], and we want to make sure they know that we are here for them.”