Seattle organizations unite to say ‘No!’ to Billionaire Bailout Bill

Seattle, WA – On July 26, a crowd of over 100 gathered at Seattle Central College for a rally and community action fair organized by the south Seattle-based grassroots organization Seattle Against War (SAW).

They were united by the need to stand up against the attacks on the working class and oppressed peoples embodied in Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” – from stripping necessary social services to an unprecedented $170 billion budget increase to ICE and border patrol.

The majority of the crowd were concerned Seattleites and new activists looking for ways to get involved, who, through the groups tabling at the event, were able to get directly connected to the struggle and help build organization vital to resisting the constant attacks by the repressive Trump administration. Organizations present included the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, 350 Seattle, UW Students for a Democratic Society, Pierce County Immigration Alliance, and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, along with many more.

Speakers emphasized the fact that the bill represents the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the U.S., cutting hundreds of billions in already-threadbare social services in order to give tax cuts to the country’s wealthiest, while also massively increasing the country’s deficit every year.

“This is legal violence, violence that we all are required to put up with,” declared a member of Seattle Against War. “This is not an issue of Republican versus Democrat — this is a direct attack on all of the working class perpetrated by the ruling class. We cannot rely on this broken system to take care of us; we need to be forming mass movements rooted in class solidarity.”

Continuing this idea, Vick Amole, an organizer with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated, “Things like this big, ugly bill are what happens when that rotten system is in crisis. This kind of all-out class warfare against the working class is symptomatic of a weakened enemy lashing out with everything it’s got because it’s running out of road. Real change means replacing this decaying system with something new. It means taking all of the anger, dissatisfaction, and desire for a better future and turning it into real, revolutionary action. It’s time to build a movement capable of uniting people from all backgrounds to not just resist those attacks, but to stand up and fight for a system where the working class holds all the power – socialism.”

Jonathan Toledo, branch chair of Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, drew attention to the $150 billion increase in the military budget. In combination with Trump’s earlier Executive Order 14288, this would give local law enforcement both greater access to military equipment and less accountability when utilizing force. Toledo stated, “I know I am not sick of fighting, and when I look out in the crowd I see nothing but drive. Drive to fight, drive to win!”

Though Trump’s attacks on the oppressed peoples of the U.S. are severe and wide ranging, this also means they are uniting many people who are fiercely determined to fight against them in one struggle.

The rally portion of the event was energetic and hopeful; speakers provided examples of the strength of the people when they get organized and fight back.

The final speaker, from the Pierce County Immigration Alliance, rallied the crowd with that group’s success in fighting against would-be ICE collaborator Sheriff Keith Swank and the successful campaign to get ICE out of schools, stating, “We’re not just on the defensive, we’re on the offensive. We’re building an unbreakable alliance between immigrants, educators and families.”

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