By G. Dunkel
March 17, 2025

From New York’s City Hall to Bowling Green, the march stretched from curb to curb in Manhattan on March 15, behind a lead banner that read “Stand with workers. Stop the cuts.” Among the thousands who marched, many held signs opposing Trump’s attacks on Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

The protest represented a broad coalition with significant union participation, notably from the Laborers, Service Employees Union (SEIU), Communications Workers of America (CWA), American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and Professional Staff Congress (PSC-CUNY) of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2334.

Community organizations present included Make the Road, Action for Reform in Special Education (ARISE) Coalition, Planned Parenthood and the Coalition for the Homeless; plus political parties, notably the Communist Party USA and Democratic Socialists of America.

Surprisingly, given the major influence of unions in this coalition, no Democratic Party politicians spoke. Anti-Zionist organizers handing out leaflets supporting Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist recently detained by ICE, got a good reception.

The National Treasury Employees Union carried a giant paper maché head of Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, with “Shame” written on it. A number of handmade signs in the march attacked the “cowardice” of the Democratic Party in failing to defend workers.

A die-in before the Stock Exchange drew a lot of attention from around the country. A group of demonstrators laid down, holding up cardboard tombstones with a variety of messages: “Bled out during miscarriages,” “Paid rent instead of chemo,” “DOGE ended my cancer treatment,” and “My rural hospital shut down.”

Beyond this demonstration, the Federal Employees Network is trying to build an emergency response organization under the slogan: “Let us Work, Save our Services.” For more information: actionnetwork.org/forms/pledge-to-defend.