Labor and electeds rally hundreds against Trump/Musk safety net cuts outside Tesla dealership in Providence
"Friends, this is not the time to cower or be silent," said Caraol Pagan from the RIFTHP. "This is the time to stand up, raise our voices, and to fight for what we know is right."
Hundreds of unionized Rhode Islanders and their supporters rallied at the Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence, across from the Tesla Dealer, to call attention to President Donald Trump and his advisor Elon Musk’s continued assault on essential federal programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Representative Gabe Amo, and Rhode Island’s Secretary of State Gregg Amore also spoke to the crowd.
“We’re pushing back against Trump, Vance, and Musk raiding departments, firing workers, cutting benefits, and pilfering the coffers to line the pockets of their billionaire friends,” wrote organizers. “It’s time to stand together and demand an economy by us, with us, and for us—not the ultra-wealthy. Working people built America, and we deserve a government that fights for us!”
Ayla Ahlquist gathered video and pictures for this piece. Here’s the video:
Transcript has been edited for clarity:
Fil Eden, NEARI: We are here today to answer a simple question. Which side are you on? Are we on this side or are we on that side? [Pointing to Tesla Dealership]
Crowd: This side!
Fil Eden: Are we on the side of the students, teachers, and parents at public schools like this one all over the country?
Crowd: Yes!
Fil Eden: Are we on the side of the richest man in the world who’s trying to screw us over for his wealth?
Crowd: No!
Fil Eden: Are we on the side of working-class pipe fitters, firefighters, and truck drivers - the people who make this country run?
Crowd: Yes!
Fil Eden: Trump is showing us which side he’s on again. Trump and Musk are trying to strong-arm their reconciliation bill through Congress. This is the one bill that Trump is trying to pass this year. He made a lot of promises to the working class when he was running for President, like cheaper groceries on day one. Is there anything in this bill to make groceries more affordable? This bill cuts billions from SNAP and school meals for kids. Millions of hardworking families will pay more for groceries if this bill passes.
Trump promised better, cheaper healthcare. This bill cuts billions from Medicaid and pays the salaries of millions of nurses and CNAs nationwide. Medicaid funds our nursing home, so when your mom needs a nursing home, if this bill passes, there will be fewer nurses and CNAs by her bedside.
Trump promised no taxes on tips and no taxes on overtime. This bill does not do that. It cuts taxes for Elon Musk and the rest of the 1%. Are we going to stand for that?
Crowd: No!
Fil Eden: We’re going to fight, and we know this is tough. We’re up against the president who thinks he’s a king and the richest man in the world who thinks he can buy Congress. In America, we don’t do kings and can’t be bought. We know this is going to be a tough fight, right? We’ve done tough fights before. Rhode Island’s working class has done tough fights before. When they had our kids losing fingers in the textile mills of Pawtucket, did we give up?
Crowd: No!
Fil Eden: We fought and we won public education so those kids could go to school. When they had us working 16-hour days, seven days a week, in their factories, did we give up?
Crowd: No!
Fil Eden: We fought, and we won weekends and overtime pay! And when they made it illegal for nurses, teachers, and firefighters to organize into unions, did we go home?
Crowd: No!
Fil Eden: We organized and built the strongest middle class the world has ever seen. So when they try to steal food out of our kids’ mouths for their tax cuts, are we going to give up? We’re going to do what we always do in Rhode Island. We are going to organize. We are going to fight, and we’re going to win.
Crowd: When we fight, we win! When we fight, we win! When we fight, we win!
Senator Jack Reed: We’re here today as Americans standing strong together to demand that this Administration respect the Constitution of the United States, the laws of the United States, and the people of the United States.
I want to thank all the working men and women. The Trump Administration is causing chaos everywhere because he loves chaos. Chaos. Money. Power. That’s his forte. Now we’re seeing lots of terrible effects: higher costs for Americans, reckless tariffs, picking fights with America’s friends, providing comfort to Vladimir Putin, and hollowing out critical federal agencies. He’s freezing federal grants. He’s eroding essential government services.
The list goes on and on, and the goal is clear: He wants to demoralize those public workers who do so much to help America and Americans succeed. And don’t take my word for it. This is the word of Russell Vought, who was the head of Project 2025 and is now the director of the Office of Management and Budget. He said, "We want our federal and public workers to be; we want them to be dramatically affected. We want them not to go to work when they wake up in the morning because they are increasingly viewed as the villain."
Ladies and gentlemen, we know who the villains are. You are the heroes.
They also want us to argue and fight with each other. We cannot do that. We have to stand together because, as Phil said, when we fight,
Crowd: We win!
Senator Reed: We don’t work for Trump. We don’t work for Vought or Hegseth. We work for the United States of America, and each of us plays a unique role. Together, we are greater than the sum of our efforts. We’re helping people get safely from place to place in the FAA, we’re serving our veterans, we’re doing critical research. We’re processing claims and helping people access benefits they’ve earned. What you do matters. It matters more today than at any time in my life. So keep up your good work!
Trump’s efforts are damaging the working class of America. His efforts against Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid won’t make the working class healthier, it will make them sicker and less secure. His economic plans aren’t helping businesses or the public, they’’re just raising prices on ordinary people.
They like to talk about tax cuts. When they talk about tax cuts, they’re for billionaires. Let’s talk about tax cuts for working Americans.
We’re in a tough fight, but that makes us fight harder, and we will fight until we prevail. We have to stand up for Social Security. We must stand up for what we do in the schools daily. We must stand up for those who believe that America is the place for opportunity and equality under the law. That’s America. That’s not Trump’s America.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: Being here with Rhode Island’s labor community is great. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you, NEARI, for organizing this. NEARI - are you here?
Crowd: Cheers
Senator Whitehouse: AFT, are you here?
Crowd: Cheers.
Senator Whitehouse: AFL-CIO? Are you here?
Crowd: Cheers.
Senator Whitehouse: SEIU, are you here?
Crowd: Cheers.
Senator Whitehouse: UNAP, are you here?
Crowd: Cheers
Senator Whitehouse: Are you here, Teamsters?
Crowd: Cheers.
Senator Whitehouse: We’ve got to do this together, and we’re going to do it together. If you’ve been following me, I’ve been onto these creepy damn billionaires for a while now. These are the creepy damn billionaires who brought their dark money into our political system and polluted and corrupted it. We’ve got to get that damn dark money out of our political system. These are the creepy billionaires who have funded the biggest fraud in American history - climate denial - all so that they can’t pollute for free. We have got to fix that. Our Rhode Island coastline and future depend on that.
Then, the creepy billionaires infiltrated our Supreme Court and captured it the way the old robber barons used to capture the mining or railroad commission so that it would do just what they wanted. We’ve got to clean up that Supreme Court, put it under proper ethics, and put term limits on the [ones] Trump put on the court. We can do these things.
You know how termites eat away at the foundation of a house first, but when it gets bad enough, you can see the termites? They come to the surface. We’ve got these creepy billionaire termites on the surface right now. We’ve got a creepy billionaire at the Department of Commerce who says we should stop Social Security payments because the only people who will complain are the fraudsters, and that’s how you identify this fake fraud that they pretend is in Social Security.
I don’t need to hear that from a billionaire Secretary of Commerce. We’re here to defend Social Security at all costs!
You’ve got a billionaire up at the treasury who wants tariffs to raise costs for families and tax cuts for billionaires like him. We don’t need that. Get rid of that creepy billionaire. If you want to see a creepy billionaire, start in South Africa and then go to China, where he has huge business interests. Then you find him and his nasty little muskrats who are running around in our government-breaking stuff so that they can say that the government is broken. You’re breaking it; get out.
And of course, the last of the creepy billionaires, if he is even a billionaire, is that orange character in the Oval Office, rotten with chaos and corruption, full of vengeance and zero interest in working people, who wants to take care of himself, get after his enemies and make sure that there are plenty of billionaires - including one over in Russia - who will take care of him and his family when his rampage through government is over. That’s what we’re up against.
As Jack Reed said, sticking together is going to make us strong. It’s fighting them in court; it’s fighting them on the Internet. It’s fighting them with public opinion. It’s fighting them in Congress. We can do this. And I have to say; I love some of these signs…
Representative Gabe Amo: I was running errands this morning, and someone asked me, "How are you?" You know how difficult that question has been for us over these last 60-plus days. But today, with all of you, I’m feeling good. I’m feeling optimistic because, though this is a big fight, this is a fight where we are stronger together. The Rhode Island labor movement has moved this country forward inch by inch all of our lives, and this is when we have to again.
Because we believe certain things, please join me if you are inclined. The biggest difference between us and people like Donald Trump and Elon Musk is that we support the rule of law. You know what? They don’t.
We defend workers’ rights. They don’t. We believe in collective bargaining. They don’t. We want fair wages and benefits. We support our immigrant neighbors. We believe in science, we fight for the vulnerable, and we believe in democracy. What we’re doing here is that democratic exercise - but let’s be very clear - this is the toughest it has ever been.
They are hacking away at the critical functions of our government and abusing the public sector. Employees who are working so hard for us every single day, FAA, NOAA, EPA, even the guys who control the nuclear arsenal - hacking away.
Will we let these creepy billionaires, as Sheldon says, take over?
Crowd: No!
Representative Amo: We have to fight. Our fights are very clear. I, like Sheldon, sit on a budget committee in the house, and they have spent hours and hours comparing notes on how they will hurt us most. They’re going to cut Medicaid. Are we going to let that happen?
Crowd: No!
Representative Amo: They want to ensure that our nursing homes don’t survive and cut SNAP. They want to make it harder for those kids who need school meals to get them.
This is a time when we all have to act. We have to agitate, communicate, legislate, and litigate, but we have to do something. Doing nothing and standing still is not an option.
I end with a message for the creepiest billionaire: Mr. Elon Musk. Get your hands off!
Crowd: Get your hands off! Get your hands off!
Representative Amo: [We need] your help, fight, and might. Your courage, persistence, and commitment to the people we love and care about- and our country. We do this why? Because we love America, and we want it to be strong, but not with these fools who want to destroy everything we worked hard for. So let’s keep going. Let’s keep fighting.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore: I am a proud NEA member and a classroom teacher for 32 years, and I will give you a little history lesson. When was America great? I was born in 1966, just after the Voting Rights Act was passed. I was born after the New Deal had an impact. I was born when the CEO-to-worker wage ratio was 20 to one, not 300 to one, as it is today. I was born when union membership was 39% of all American workers, not 9% like today. I was born when the marginal tax rate was 70% - when creepy billionaires paid their fair share.
Today, you pay more in taxes than they do percentage-wise. I was born when we were pushing for the Clean Water Act, and a Clean Air Act was passed and signed by a Republican President. And by the way, that Republican president resigned because the people in his party pushed him to resign. They did not capitulate. They did not agree. They did not turn their backs on the American people. That’s when America was great. That’s when America was moving forward. That’s what New Deal effect for being felt. That’s when working-class people had a say. That’s when working-class people moved to this country - that is the message going forward.
Too many working-class people were duped by the most fraudulent candidate in American history into thinking that their interests were his interests. I have just outlined whose interests we care about.
When we fight for an expanded middle class and workers’ pay and rights, we should have a robust child tax credit and a robust credit for daycare and childcare. I’m thankful every morning when I wake up, and I know that our federal delegation is there fighting for us. We need to have their backs, and we need to continue to fight. You cannot be quiet. You cannot sit still; you cannot capitulate. We must continue to push forward.
Jay Drepeau - SEIU 1199: I’m a registered nurse - a mental health psychiatric RN for 22 years. I’m a member of a union, 1199, and because of that, I’ve been fortunate to have a seat at the table and engage in collective bargaining with my employer over my wages, benefits, and pension. I have a stable income, job security, and agency in my workplace.
Because of my involvement in organized labor, I’ve learned a few things. I’ve learned that when a tiny minority of people have power, they never give it up voluntarily. They fight with all their resources to keep that power away from those they have power over. The only way to fight this is to wrest power from the few and place it where it belongs - with the many.
Wielding the power of the many in the workplace and how labor unions have built power among working people in this country for nearly a hundred years. It works. It is right.
Too many people in this country lack the essential elements of a secure life. This country is made up of millions of hardworking people who don’t make enough money, cannot count on their jobs being there long-term, and face the possibility of poverty in childhood, adulthood, and old age despite working hard their whole lives. This is not right.
Conversely, a tiny portion of Americans have just about everything. I suppose some of them have earned what they have, but we know that many acquired their vast wealth and influence because of the family they were born into. Nepotism and the ability of the rich to effect a massive transfer of wealth from the poor and working class to the rich and super-rich are the reasons why this country—the birthplace of modern democracy—has become a plutocracy where the rich are out-distancing the working class at an exponential rate.
In Washington, our leaders have a reconciliation bill that will accelerate this massive transfer of wealth. $880 billion in Medicaid cuts will devastate the poor and working class. Patients will have reduced access to basic healthcare and will suffer. Some of them will die for it. Mental health patients and the clinics and hospitals that serve them will suffer from poor staffing, reduced access, and ghastly outcomes. Healthcare workers who make their living caring for the most vulnerable among us will experience wage stagnation and yet another reduction in the size of their American Dream. This will allow the rich and the super-rich to own another mansion and yacht and pollute the skies with yet another jet.
The America we know now, the America of the haves and the have-nots, will become the America of the have-mores and the have-nothings. This is not right. We must fight. Each of us who cares about the American Dream must fight the erosion of the working class from funding the gluttonous expansion of the 1%.
The labor movement has always been willing to fight this fight. We will continue to fight, and we will not stop. If Donald Trump and his number one donor and richest man in the world want to continue to raid the public coffers and take from the poor and give to the rich, he’s going to have to come through us. What he doesn’t know is that we already know how to fight. We know how to use power - the power of the many who are organized and passionate, and this is a mighty force for what is right. When we fight, we win. Are you with us? Are you ready to fight?
Carol Pagan - Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals (RIFTHP): I’m a proud member of the Providence Teachers Union, and I have 25 years of teaching experience in Providence. It is an honor to stand in front of one of our buildings to fight for the rights of our students and their families, who sometimes don’t know where to begin this fight. Those of us with a voice and a microphone must use it responsibly to fight for them and their families. I am a teacher, a proud union member, and, most importantly, a hardworking American who believes in the power of working people to change this country for the better.
Every day, we pour energy, sweat, and passion into building the backbone of America. We work with our students daily, and we love our work. We teach the next generation. We pay our taxes and keep this country running daily, but we struggle to make ends meet. Public school teachers work two or even three jobs to pay their bills. I know teachers who can’t afford housing based on their salaries. This isn’t a statistic. It’s real, and it’s happening here in Rhode Island today.
Meanwhile, the system is designed to give us a shot at a fair and decent life. Public education, affordable housing, healthcare, and the promise of opportunity are being chipped away—piece by piece—by those in power today. Meanwhile, food prices rise, rent and mortgage prices skyrocket, and electricity and heating costs keep climbing. We, the working class, are being pushed to the breaking point.
While we struggle, the wealthiest 1% are doing just fine. They’re sitting comfortably in the front row of the White House briefings and political events. Their needs, not ours, are running the political agenda today. This is what’s at stake—our future, families, and the fabric of the working class.
It might feel overwhelming. Some of us may have stopped watching the news or talking about politics because it’s just too much and draining our energy. Friends, this is not the time to cower or be silent. This is the time to stand up, raise our voices, and fight for what we know is right.
My favorite labor organizer, Cesar Chavez, once said, “From the depth of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their problems and fill their needs with dignity and strength," and so will we. The strength of this country doesn’t come from Wall Street. It doesn’t come from billionaires and CEOs. It comes from the working class - the teachers, nurses, truck drivers, factory workers, and countless others who build, teach, and care for this country every day.
We’re healthcare workers. We are the hands and minds that make America great. Not greed, not hatred, and not the powerful elite who put their profits before people. I ask you today, who’s ready to roll up their sleeves and remind Washington that the working people of America demand righteousness? Who’s ready to say enough Is enough? Who’s ready to resist? We don’t want the 1% controlling the lives and futures of the 99%, do we?
Crowd: No!
Carol Pagan: Do we want to sit back while we cut essential services?
Crowd: No!
Carol Pagan: Gut public education?
Crowd: No!
Carol Pagan: And dismantle the departments that protect our environment?
Crowd: No!
Carol Pagan: Our justice system and our livelihoods?
Crowd: No!
Carol Pagan: Do we demand a government that serves us, the people who built this country, and keeps it running daily?
Crowd: Yes!
Carol Pagan: This is our time. It’s time to stand in courage and outrage. It’s time to demand that our voices be heard. We have the strength to fight back together. We can organize, speak out, and take action because we are not alone. We’ve got each other and the power of millions of hardworking Americans behind us. Let’s fight. Let’s organize. Let’s remind them who holds the power in America. Stay strong, stay united, and let’s keep fighting for justice, dignity, and a better future for all of us and the future generations who depend on us to do what’s right.
Lynn Blais - UNAP: I have been a registered nurse for 49 years. I’m a wife, sister, daughter, and a healthcare worker fighting for all of us. As many of you know, our healthcare system is in critical condition. How many people have waited hours in an emergency room to be treated? How many can find a primary care doctor? If you’re trying to find a specialist, that’s a year to a year and a half wait to find a specialist to treat us. When we need a bed in the hospital, we wait in an emergency room for days on end for a bed to open up. We need to make sure we fund our Medicare and Medicaid system. Rhode Islanders, 70% of our citizens receive Medicare or Medicaid. Our hospital systems are struggling and dying. We can’t afford to lose a penny. We need to increase those reimbursements.
We need to keep this country healthy. We need to continue to fight. We need to make sure these cuts don’t happen. I’m happy that we have a federal delegation that understands that down in D.C., but we must also make it heard here in the state. We must inform them at the State House that our Medicaid reimbursements can’t be cut. There have to be increases for us to be able to survive. We at UNAP will continue to work very hard to make sure we take care of the citizens of this state, and we will be there for the fights in the future.
Kristi DiCenzo - Teamsters 251: I am a 20-year Teamster healthcare professional and Navy veteran. I am a single mom, and I’m a survivor of domestic violence. I’m here to tell you how the current administration is affecting me and my community by directly cutting funding for survivors of domestic violence. This is not allowing victims of domestic violence to access essential care here in Rhode Island. I had over $60,000 worth of work done to my face after being assaulted. This administration is trying to make cuts, not only for domestic violence victims but they’re trying to make cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and some things that are essential for single mothers like myself to survive.
You don’t understand that. You don’t understand the community out there right now. I’m also a veteran. Have been 80,000 cuts proposed to veteran services and my brothers and sisters who have served. I served for over 22 years. I, at least, should have access to mental health and healthcare. I stand with you as a Teamster and a single mom who does not want to see one thing cut because we will not survive. But collectively, here today, we will. I need all of you here today to come together and fight this fight because people like me don’t always speak up.
Jennifer Saarinen - NEARI: I’m a public school teacher in the Bristol-Warren Regional School and am the current president of the Bristol-Warren Education Association. I’m a product of public education and have proudly served as a public educator for over two decades. I have seen countless initiatives come and go, many leaving my colleagues and I shaking our heads wondering, "Will these give us gains in student learning outcomes?" But we are no longer confused nine weeks into this new administration. We are angry. We are alarmed, and we’re mobilizing.
What is Donald Trump thinking? Whether on a golf course in Florida or the Oval Office, his decisions are reckless and destructive. They threaten the very foundation of public education and, with it, the future of millions of students. Teaching students today takes more energy, resilience, and heart than ever before, and yet we show up day in and day out with well-planned lessons, compassion, and unwavering commitment.
Our role extends beyond the classroom. We must feed hungry children, connect families with vital support services, and create safe, inclusive spaces where every child is seen, valued, and welcomed. We must not be expected to do more with less.
Linda McMahon, known for World Wrestling Entertainment, is leading an agency whose goal is to eliminate itself. Who takes the job just to erase it? Only a billionaire can afford to do that. And that’s exactly the problem. Gutting public education isn’t just bad policy, it’s a moral failure. Public funds are being siphoned to private school vouchers. Educators are losing their rights, and billionaires are getting tax cuts while our most vulnerable students lose the support that they need to succeed.
This is not okay. This is not normal, and it’s not inevitable - unless we stay silent. Most Americans believe every student deserves a fair shot, regardless of zip code, race, or family income. Students with disabilities can’t afford to lose critical services. Families can’t afford to lose support. We know class size matters. These cuts in public education will mean overcrowded classrooms, shuttered schools, and educators pushed out of the jobs they love. We cannot walk backward on civil rights and abandon our students of color, LGBTQ+ students, or our multilanguage learners. Public education is a promise. It’s a public good, and now, more than ever, it needs defenders. 1,400 days is a long time to wait until our next president - one who will value public education - takes office. Our students can’t afford to wait, and neither can we. This is the moment to stand up and take action. Call your elected officials, attend school board meetings, support educators, and protect students.
Matt Gunnip - SEIU 580: I’m honored to represent the committed and dedicated public sector employees of SEIU Local 580. Our members provide critical services to the public at over eight state agencies, including the last line of protection for our most vulnerable children and families from abuse and neglect. We provide critical services to process Medicaid, which over 300,000 Rhode Islanders depend on, and provide food stamps through the staff benefits program.
I’m here today on behalf of my members. To clarify, we refuse to let the billionaires take away access to resources that our working families depend on. We refuse to let billionaires scapegoat the poor - disproportionately people of color - who rely on federal funding to meet their basic needs.
Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the country, providing healthcare to more than 80 million Americans, including 40% of the nation’s children. One in four Americans, 77%, view Medicaid favorably - that [the Administration] wants to slash and burn. The 300,000 Rhode Islanders who depend on Medicaid are our seniors, kids, moms, and dads who are working to put food on the table to make ends meet; our veterans, people of color, and people with disabilities are all communities that our members serve daily and are proud to serve.
Federal Medicaid plays a major role in the Rhode Island state budget and supports services to prevent child abuse and neglect, provide care for foster kids, and support services for mental health and substance abuse. You cannot claim to support the working class if you take away federal funds and give that money to corporations and billionaires.
In solidarity, on behalf of my members, I am honored to be here with you today. As a housekeeping measure, a "Raise the Wage flyer is going around for the state legislation to increase the minimum wage.
Justin Kelley—IUPAT 195: I work for the Painters Union. Are you ready to fight for our democracy and your rights?
I want to tell you a little story about the place next door. I know it will shock you to find that it was built by non-union workers. Almost every single worker there, performing a basic, non-licensed trade, was paid off the books—an immigrant worker who was exploited by their boss.
That’s what you get with these guys. That’s who they are. That’s what they do. They depend on us to lie down and not fight for ourselves. Are we going to do that?
Crowd: No!
Justin Kelley: I know I’m not going to do that. My father’s a Vietnam veteran. My grandfather was a Korean veteran. Going back to the Civil War, every single male member of my family was in the service.
They can’t go to the Veteran’s Administration for care.
My grandmother depends on Social Security. I’m not going to see her choose to eat dog food or pay for her medicine. Is that alright?
Crowd: No!
Justin Kelley: That’s not alright with me.
So what is it time to do? It’s time for us to look inside ourselves because here’s the thing: We are the ones with the power. Look inside yourselves and sense your strength. You have the power. The people have the power. Organize yourself. It doesn’t stop here. It starts here today.
If you are not in a union, talk to us. Form a union at your workplace; we will help you. The solidarity of working people is the strongest thing under the sun, and that’s why they attack us relentlessly. If we are united and stand in solidarity, some boy from South Africa can do nothing to us. There’s nothing that some white supremacists can do to us. When we stand in solidarity with one another, there’s nothing that some corporate - I won’t use the word, but you can guess - there’s nothing they can do to us.
So stand together. We have the power. Who’s got the power?
Crowd: We got the power!
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