Progressive Coalition marched in solidarity against Trump’s agenda

This past Saturday, union members, students, educators and immigrants came together to protest and demand Congress and local leaders take action to protect public education, jobs, health care and immigrant rights.

The march was organized by the Progressive Coalition, a group of community members and organizations that includes SEIU Local 99, United Teachers Los Angeles, InnerCity Struggle, CHIRLA and We Are California, among others.

Los Angeles City Hall was the starting point for the march and continued through Downtown Los Angeles. The coalition also made a stop at the ICE detention center, concluding with a rally at the Federal Building.

The proposed actions by the Trump administration to dismantle critical federal programs and departments are projected to have severely detrimental consequences for Los Angeles' most vulnerable populations who rely on essential federally-funded programs.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) receives nearly $1 billion in funding from the Department of Education for special education, food services, school bus transportation and other support for students and families in low-income communities.  

Given that Los Angeles is one of the country’s most unionized cities. Educators, health care workers and other public service workers have been in the forefront of the fight to increase the city and the state’s minimum wage to improve staffing levels in schools, hospitals and other public services.

On March 11, the Department of Education (DOE) initiated a Reduction In Force (RIF), impacting nearly 50% of the Department’s workforce. When President Donald Trump was inaugurated, there were still 4,133 workers and after Tuesday’s layoffs, the department’s workforce will total to about 2,183 workers.The reduction affects all divisions within the Department, with some needing substantial reorganization to improve service to students, parents, educators and taxpayers.

Health insurance programs like Medi-Cal, which receives one-third of its funding from the federal government, its proposed budget cut could affect 15 million Californians, including seniors, people with long-term illnesses and disabilities, children and working families who rely on these programs for essential health services. As of 2023, about 1.4 million people in Los Angeles County residents were enrolled in Medicare programs, a majority seniors 65 years of age or older. 

While the specifics of the health care cuts are uncertain, drastic funding reductions may cause millions of Americans to lose access to healthcare, long-term care and specialized benefits.

Today, Los Angeles County is home to nearly 3.5 million immigrants, over a third of the county’s total population according to the American Community Survey (ACS). Recently, Los Angeles declared itself a sanctuary city, which is a symbolic gesture of supporting the undocumented population and committing to protect their rights against Trump's agenda promises of mass deportations. Taking leadership on immigrant integration can make Los Angeles a model for welcoming immigrants culturally, politically and institutionally.