Rallies From Cincinnati to Middletown Target Trump Economic Policies
Crowds in Cincinnati and Middletown turned out to celebrate International Workers Day Thursday, using the opportunity to criticize the polices of the Trump administration.
Hundreds rallied in the rain at Cincinnati's Washington Park, where labor leaders and activists spoke.
"I’m here today representing a labor movement which believes at our core that for economic and social justice to flow freely government of the people, by the people and for the people cannot be sidelined," said Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga. "And it is because of this belief in democracy that we take a stand every day against the concentration of wealth and power that exists in our country right now."
The event focused on the impact Trump's policies will have on local workers. Greater Cincinnati Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary Jimmy Hyden told the crowd Trump’s tariffs — including a 145% tariff on most goods from China — could endanger the long-awaited Brent Spence Bridge project.
"This is personal, it's local," he said. "This comes down to jacking the prices up on materials that we need to build these things. Not only that, but the materials and things we need to live and survive every day. When costs explode like that, jobs get canceled."