OKLAHOMA CITY — Calls for worker power over corporate influence defined a Labor Day rally at the state Capitol, where union leaders, activists and community groups pressed for economic justice.
The event, organized by 50501 OK and Indivisible OK, which also coordinated the Rage Against the Regime and No Kings protests, featured speeches, music, and advocacy tables.
Organizers urged Oklahomans to stand together across communities, demand livable wages and hold elected officials accountable, presenting Labor Day not simply as a holiday but as a reminder of ongoing struggles for workers’ rights.
Tables lined the sidewalks, featuring groups such as the Oklahoma City chapter of Democratic Socialists of America and Starbucks Workers United.
Choosing not to spend
Yvonne Taylor, a volunteer with Bridge2Safety, a nonprofit that supports survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, told Free Press she marked the holiday by refusing to spend money.
“I wanted to show out for Labor Day because it’s one of those days that they make lots of money, so I made it a point to make sure I didn’t spend any money, didn’t buy any gas, didn’t support the whole weekend,” Taylor said.
She added that she hopes voters will be more deliberate at the ballot box.
“I think it’s very important to do research into voting so they know exactly what they’re voting for,” she told Free Press.
Union perspective
Union organizer Zakk Flash, representing the Teamsters, spoke about the history of labor organizing and its role in improving working conditions.
“I think it’s important when people know that we have achieved victories in extraordinary circumstances,” Flash told the crowd from the Capitol steps. “Reminding ourselves of that fact … gives us courage and a way to move forward in the present, to build the new world we want to see.”
Workers over billionaires
Tyler Minton, an organizer with OKC DSA, urged attendees to remember what he called the true meaning of Labor Day.
“Thank you for joining us here to help us remember the true meaning of Labor Day, distilled down for a simple message for those that would launch us into serfdom, that message is: Workers Over Billionaires!” he said.
Minton expanded that message beyond billionaires to “politicians, corporations, shareholders, profits, fascists, and bigots,” adding, “most of all, workers over defeatism.”
He also criticized Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, saying she supports national efforts against socialism while avoiding accountability to constituents.
A call for unity
Another speaker, Antonia Belindo, called for unity across communities.
“We must come together, workers, Black, Indigenous immigrants, farmers and urban folks alike, to demand land back, to demand reparations, to demand livable wages and a future where dignity by the dollar is not negotiable,” she said.
Belindo emphasized that workers themselves are central to the economy.
“We are the wealth. We are the economy. We are the reason anything moves, builds, grows, or heals in this land, and without us there is nothing. Healing is not a handout. Economic healing is not charity, it is justice. It is wages that sustain families.”
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
