ST. IGNACE - U.S. Senator Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, led the 2025 Mackinac Bridge Walk in recognition of Labor Day. Peters kicked off the walk in St. Ignace alongside local labor leaders.

“I was honored to lead this year’s Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk,” Peters said in a Monday afternoon press release. “This quintessential Michigan event celebrates the hardworking Michiganders that help build our infrastructure, construct the vehicles we drive, prepare our students for success, and keep our communities safe and protected. It also recognizes the importance of strong labor unions, which have helped generations of workers stand together and fight for the benefits they deserve, whether that’s higher wages, safer work conditions, or the ability to retire with dignity. I’m proud to walk alongside our union members this Labor Day and will always fight for the rights of every Michigan worker.”

Peters has been a champion for workers’ right to stand together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. Earlier this year, he cosponsored and urged Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would strengthen the federal laws that protect workers’ right to form a union to collectively bargain for the hard-earned benefits they deserve.

Peters grew up in a union household, where his mother was a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) steward, and his father was a member of the Michigan Education Association (MEA).

The Labor Day Mackinac Bridge Walk has been an annual event since 1958, with this year marking the 67th annual walk. In recent years, between 20,000 and 30,000 people have participated in the event.