‘Good Trouble’ Protest Organizers Condemn Trump’s Cuts to Public Health, Immigration Policies

Nearly three dozen coordinated protests were held in the Bay Area on Thursday, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the death of Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights legend with a legacy of creating “good trouble.”

Organized under the motto “Good Trouble Lives On,” the protests are in response to what organizers say are the Trump administration’s “extreme crackdown” on civil rights, from voting to free speech and protesting itself.

Lewis coined the term “good trouble,” which protest organizers have translated to mean the act of coming together to take peaceful, nonviolent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change. Lewis, of Georgia, served in Congress for three decades before his death in 2020.

Outside the California Nurses Association headquarters in Oakland, about 200 people — mostly CNA members — gathered to hear speakers condemn the slashing of federal programs like Medicaid, SNAP and Social Security that have been shown to improve the health of marginalized people.

Cathy Kennedy, president of CNA, said Lewis stands as a model for people to speak up when they see injustice. She cited the passage of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” — which is expected to result in 3.4 million Californians losing their medical coverage — as an example.

“You’re going to see rural hospitals close down. They already started cutting some services, basic needs like maternal health services in rural areas and in some hospitals,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to have a trickle-down effect on everybody. They’re coming after the working people, and it’s benefiting only less than the 1%. It’s happening.”

As caretakers of the community, Kennedy said it was important that the public see nurses taking a stand alongside them. “We’re very trusted in the communities. And so what better person to also voice their concerns and to say that we are resisting, along with everybody else,” she said.

Josh Anijar, executive director of the Contra Costa Labor Council, said the one thing that can hurt those in power — and the only way to make sure everyone understands how “these draconian cuts” are going to affect members of the community — is an organized base.

“What they’re afraid of right now is workers coming together in moments like this, in break rooms, on your neighborhood stoop, just hanging out, talking. Every conversation for all of us should be an organizing conversation,” Anijar said. “Every single one of us are going to be impacted by these cuts to Medicaid. Every single one of us are going to feel these hurts.”

Alongside nurses, labor leaders and community organizers condemned Trump’s immigration policies, namely using masked federal agents to intimidate and detain immigrants and federalizing the California National Guard in Los Angeles.

Kim Tavaglione, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, said those tactics are harming communities.

“He’s declared war on our communities. He’s declared war on our neighbors. Nobody really gave a shit whether or not their neighbors were legal or not legal. They are our neighbors, and they’re being kidnapped just to meet some stupid quota that makes no sense,” Tavaglione said. “He promised to take away criminals, but he’s taken away hard-working people that make our country work.”

Tavaglione said labor councils are pushing union members to attend Labor in the Pulpit this Labor Day weekend, where they speak before a local congregation about issues impacting the community in preparation for the midterm elections next year.

“You are more trusted than any politician on this earth. When you speak your truth, people listen,” Tavaglione said, referring to union members. “If you get your five minutes in front of them, your leaders, they will follow you. They will follow you to the polls. They will follow your judgment on who to vote for. And I’m here asking you to please participate.”