Solidarity Action with Federal Workers
Palm Springs
April 05, 2025
On April 5th, the Inland Empire Labor Council held a solidarity action at the Palm Springs International Airport, rallying unions, community, and elected officials to take action against Donald Trump’s attacks on federal union workers. The action abruptly changed when over 2000 guests showed up for Hands Off! 2025’s National Day of Action less than 100 feet away.
The event was hosted in collaboration with AFGE 1260 members, following an executive order that illegally terminated collective bargaining rights for Transportation Security Officers (TSO) in early March. The urgency of the action was escalated when another order removed collective bargaining for two-thirds of all federal workers in the United States, not just TSO’s.
While these orders were applied via executive order at the federal level, unions had to combat the president’s agenda locally.
One of the congressional districts in our jurisdiction is misrepresented by a strong voice of support for DOGE’s efforts to gut the federal government. Republican Congressmember Ken Calvert, has been in office for the last 28 years, consistently antagonizing working class people against each other to push his personal class interests. Which is why labor council members leafleted and held banners that demanded that he help restore the bargaining contracts of his district members.
Union members from NUHW, Ironworkers, UAW, UDW, ATU, Teamsters, and other affiliated unions stood in solidarity with their AFGE siblings, holding banners and signs that read: “Bring Back the TSA Union,” “Protect Workers’ Right to Organize,” and “Restore Bargaining Rights—Call Calvert!”
This action was meant to reach a few hundred guests arriving at the airport and drivers in a highly traveled area, but nothing could have prepared union members for the overwhelming support we received over the following hours.
During the setup of our distribution table, the Inland Empire Labor Council’s Executive Secretary-Treasurer was asked to speak at the Hands Off! rally. As Hands Off! guests trickled in, they would stop by our table where union members volunteered to educate passerbys on actionable ways they could support federal employees. Little by little a large audience of over 2,000 guests had built up.
Ricardo Cisneros stood shoulder to shoulder with union members from all sectors and spoke in front of over 2,000 guests. Those guests were present to to protest executive orders from taxes, to inflation, medicaid, social security, targeting of immigrants, and war, solidifying a shared class-interest between all working people against the billionaire agenda.
He concluded his speech with over 2,000 people chanting the IE Labor Council’s slogan–We Are One Movement! An important moment that showed union solidarity is community solidarity.
Participants of this rally were instructed to learn more about our action by checking out our table on the outskirts of the crowd. Liutenant Governor of California Eleni Kounalakis was one of many who showed up in support of our efforts to restore union contracts for federal workers.
In between rallies, the KESQ’s News channel 3 interviewed AFGE Local 1260 Vice-President Victor Payes, and Ricardo Cisneros to round out the different actors participating in this National Day of Action. You can watch the interview below or at https://vimeo.com/1074122569 – KESQ’s Channel 3 News.
At around 1 PM, the IELC hosted its own rally to platform federal workers. IE labor leaders Jessica Rentz from NUHW, Mauro Varela President of the IELC and Vice President of ATU.
Representatives such as Congressmember Raul Ruiz, Riverside City Council member Clarissa Cervantes, and Supervisor Jose Medina, also shared their sentiments on this issue emphasizing that we must be holding conversations with our fellow co-workers and shift the regional culture to benefit working class people.
After the labor council’s rally, members from the labor movement and community alike left with a renewed understanding of the need to continue the fight for all workers after hearing enormous support from the community.
