Labor Day protests across the Bay Area drew thousands of participants Monday, aiming to push back against a “war on working people.”

From San Francisco to Oakland to San Jose, more than 20 demonstrations took place across the Bay Area as part of a nationwide day of protest called Workers Over Billionaires set to coincide with Labor Day. Across the country, close to 1,000 protests were planned in all 50 states and were organized nationally by AFL-CIO with partner organizations.

“The greatest goal is to show that we are not backing down, that we continue to show up and fight for what we believe in — in ever increasing numbers and ever increasing physical mass, making the line longer,” said IdaRose Sylvester, an organizer of the Hands Across Santa Clara to Redwood City protest, which aimed to have 17,000 people lining a 17 mile stretch along El Camino Real. “We are making a very strong statement that we will continue to show up and fight for what we believe in.”

The protests aimed to push back against what they called a war on working people. Organizers said issues included the Trump administration’s cuts to public programs that support working families and deportation efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the country of noncitizens living in the U.S. without permission.

In Mountain View, one of several stops along the El Camino Real protest, cars honked as protests shouted and waved. About 100 people gathered near the intersection with Grant Road, with many waving American flags.

Howard Solovei, a 63-year-old resident of Los Gatos, said he has been protesting since 2018 for a variety of causes, but now his motives are more personal as he fights for his LGBTQ+ family members.

“People are upset, but we’re taking action,” Solovei added.

In Sunnyvale, the protester numbers were relatively sparse but the crowd was full of exuberance and passion.

The nationwide day of action follows several other days of action in recent months that garnered massive turnouts across the Bay Area. In June, more than 140,000 people rallied across the Bay Area at “No Kings” rallies. In April, thousands of people demonstrated nationwide at “Hands Off” rallies.

The Hands Across Santa Clara to Redwood City 17x17k protest’s goals were two-pronged, Sylvester said: to show the Trump administration that people are going to keep fighting for what they believe in, and to show elected officials whose views align with the protest that they support them, she added.

“This is all about community,” Sylvester said. “One of the reasons we protest is to build a sense of community, to be with people, to feel the power of other people’s conviction, to even meet people, make friends, find people you can do other activities with. To us, the solidarity theme is pretty powerful.”

In a press release sent on Labor Day, the Trump Administration touted “putting the American Worker first” and gains of half a million private sector jobs since January.

“From surging native-born employment and rising blue-collar wages to innovative workforce initiatives like expanded apprenticeships and trade school funding, the Trump Administration is reversing decades of neglect and finally putting American Workers first,” the administration said.

Sonia Mankame, Iris Sanchez, Angelique Alvarez Martinez and Sophia Luo contributed to this report. They are with Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.