With additional reporting and photos by guest correspondent Maureen King

*Labor union members were out in force for the rally on Sept. 1. Photo by The Waltham TImes.*

UPDATE (Sept. 4, 7:05 a.m.). The article has been updated to cite Indivisible Waltham as the rally organizer. Elizabeth Hoffecker was the lead organizer.

More than 500 people gathered on Waltham Common on Labor Day to call for protections to democracy, health care and climate action.

The demonstration, organized by Indivisible Waltham, featured teachers, nurses, parishioners, veterans and activists. Participants carried homemade signs with messages such as “No kings,” “Hands off my medical insurance” and “Stop the cruelty.”

Passersby honked car horns in support as activists chanted and displayed their signs.

Speakers representing local labor unions addressed the crowd from the gazebo before marchers lined sidewalks around the Common.

“We’re dealing with the government right now that’s run by people who don’t believe in democracy, who want to create an autocratic state controlled by a very small handful of unelected billionaires that puts the machinery of this country to work on their behalf – on the behalf of the further consolidation of their capital and power, and not on behalf of the common working people who elect them, who should be electing our government,” said Elizabeth Hoffecker, a lead organizer for Indivisible.

She said individuals could learn from and join forces with organized labor, which is a successful example of ordinary people working together to fight for their interests.