Protesters march along Brentwood Boulevard in Clayton on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. The Labor Day rally drew many Democrats frustrated with Gov. Mike Kehoe's redistricting plan.
CLAYTON 鈥 Frustration over a Republican push to redraw congressional districts and the recent reversal of voter-approved paid sick leave drew more than a thousand protesters Monday to Shaw Park for a Labor Day rally.
They gathered under blue skies, waving American flags, wearing union T-shirts and cheering when cars honked their horns as they drove by on South Brentwood Boulevard. A half-dozen speakers 鈥 lawmakers, union leaders and activists 鈥 addressed the crowd before a chant-filled march along Brentwood toward Forsyth Boulevard.
Steve Griffin of O鈥橣allon, Missouri, carried a hand-painted sign that read, 鈥淕errymandering Oligarchist Power Grabbers,鈥 with the first letters stacked to spell out GOP.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be rule of mob in government, not rule of law,鈥 said Griffin. 鈥淲e need a lot of people to show up. This is not going to go away.鈥
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On Friday, Gov. Mike Kehoe announced a special session for legislators starting this week to remap congressional boundaries and to make it harder for residents to alter the state constitution through the ballot process 鈥 as they did with Proposition A, which had mandated paid sick leave and was overturned by the governor in July.
More than a thousand people attended a Labor Day rally on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, at Shaw Park in Clayton.
President Donald Trump has encouraged Republican-led states to redraw their voting districts ahead of the midterm elections, and several blue states have followed suit in unprecedented political maneuvering usually reserved for post-Census years.
Griffin said he plans to take off work to attend a demonstration in Jefferson City, an event that state Sen. Doug Beck promoted at Monday鈥檚 rally.
鈥淔olks, this is not a joke,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to fight.鈥
Beck, a member of the pipefitters union and the Senate minority leader, represents part of south 最新杏吧原创 County. He was joined by Sen. Angela Mosley, whose district includes much of north 最新杏吧原创 County.
Beck and Mosley are two of 10 Democrats in the state Senate. The other 24 senators are Republicans.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a hard road,鈥 Mosley said in an interview. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to use the filibuster as much as we can.鈥
Many of those at the rally said they had attended other demonstrations since Trump鈥檚 election in January.
Paul Ehresman, of 最新杏吧原创, said the vibe Monday felt different from the anti-Trump 鈥淣o Kings鈥 protests held in multiple locations across the 最新杏吧原创 area and throughout the country in June.
鈥淭hat was a rowdier celebration,鈥 said Ehresman. 鈥淲e鈥檙e farther into it now. A lot of deeds have been done.鈥
Sydni Jackson, of Creve Coeur, brought her mother and 5-year-old son with her to Shaw Park. If nothing else, she said, she wants people to know their feelings.
鈥淲hatever we can do to amplify our voices, we will,鈥 Jackson said.
The Missouri Workers Center, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of low-wage workers, organized the Labor Day rally along with local unions and other labor-focused groups, such as Missouri Jobs for Justice.
A sister event was held at noon Monday in Kansas City.
Missouri state Sen. Doug Beck, a Democrat, speaks at a Labor Day rally on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. Sen. Angela Mosley, left, and Rep. Yolonda Fountain Henderson were among the other Democratic lawmakers at the event in Clayton's Shaw Park.
