PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The protests in Portland following Tuesday’s presidential election have so far been decidedly different — smaller and peaceful — than protests following the 2016 and 2020 elections.
On Saturday, about 60 people came to the “Workers Deserve More” protest organized by the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. DSA members told KOIN 6 News they were there to mobilize their community, calling for the demonstration before they even knew the results of the election.
“Workers Deserve More” is part of their 2024 initiative, which includes fighting for reproductive rights, healthcare and pensions.
“I think our main message is that the working class of this country are the ones with the real power to enact change and to take power back from the rich,” said Olivia Katbi with the Portland chapter of the DSA. She said neither Democrats nor Republicans aren’t listening to workers’ voices.
Protesters gather at Portland City Hall days after presidential election
“These are two sides of the same coin. and workers deserve more,” she said.
Portland DSA co-chair Brian Denning said they will fight for “health care, pensions, reproductive rights, all the things that basically a ton of my coworkers and a ton of people I talk to on a daily basis, feel is missing from the conversation on the national level.”
Another peaceful protest, Portland For Palestine, had a small gathering at Sunnyside School Park demanding the US stop funding Israel.
“We want an end to the violence in the Middle East. We want an end of U.S. intervention in the Middle East,” said the group’s Kacey DeSantis. “And secondly, we want to show our disdain for the election.”
The stark contrast between this protest and ones in previous cycles was noted by businesses — who told KOIN 6 News they welcomed the foot traffic.
“Anything that’s going to get people out of their isolation and together in mass and out on the streets is only good for business,” said Jeannette Trexler of Mama & Hapa’s Zero Waste Shop. “We obviously haven’t boarded up our windows. We’re not afraid of protesters.”
Baxter Armentret, a studio assistant at Velvet Elvis, said not many people came in from the crowd of protesters. “I don’t think it’s really affected our business at all.”
Portland police declined to comment to KOIN 6 News on Saturday about the protests but did say they will have a statement later in the week.
Denning said the more organized workers are, the better and more effective the protests will be.
“Organized workers win things, right, and disorganized workers don’t win things and get mad and just break things because they don’t know what else to do,” he said. “So that’s how we as a society get the things we want.”
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