This article examines the emergence, evolution, and contentious politics of the “Yellow Hats” movement, a collective protest movement formed by high-voltage power substation operators in Iran. Drawing on the theoretical framework of contentious politics and Ruth Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA), the study investigates how these workers constructed a collective identity, mobilized organizational resources, and articulated their demands within Iran’s state-centered political and economic structure. The findings indicate that the movement emerged from a structural contradiction between the governmental and specialized nature of operators’ work and their insecure contractual employment status under outsourcing arrangements. Through the strategic use of legal discourse, institutional channels, professional associations, media platforms, and collective protests, the movement transformed occupational grievances into a broader struggle over labor rights, employment security, and administrative justice. Discourse analysis reveals that the movement’s claims were framed around the themes of legality, justice, expertise, and public service. The symbolic designation “Yellow Hats” played a crucial role in constructing a shared collective identity, while references to laws and administrative regulations enhanced the legitimacy of the movement’s demands. Although the movement achieved partial successes, many of its core demands remain unresolved. The article argues that the Yellow Hats movement represents a significant example of contemporary labor mobilization in Iran and state-centered labor governance.