As we come to another Labor Day, working Americans are still fighting for liveable wages, better working conditions, and the right to organize.
The Labor Day holiday dates back to the late 19th Century, inspired by the violent clashes between labor and police during the Chicago Haymarket Riot in 1886, when thousands of workers flooded the streets of the Windy City demanding an eight-hour workday.
To many of us, Labor Day is a paid holiday, an extra day to go camping or a time to bid summer goodbye and gather with friends at a barbeque. All this is fine, working Americans deserve a day of recognition for their labor, but we still have a ways to go, especially in getting laws passed that support workers and working families.
Many of the obstacles American workers face are stagnant wages, the rising cost of living, skyrocketing rent and housing costs, little to no health benefits, the extinction of pensions, and stubborn opposition of employers to unionization efforts.
Working people who want to form unions and bargain for better pay and benefits are hog-tied in the majority of states where “right to work” laws empower large corporations like Amazon and Starbucks to stomp out efforts to organize.
But it’s not just multinational corporations that seek to keep workers from organizing, the GOP has a hand in it too.
For example, the federal minimum wage is stuck at $7.25 an hour, the same as it was in 2009. In 2021, GOP lawmakers made use of ridiculous parliamentary rules to stop the Senate from including a $15 minimum wage in Biden’s COVID-19 relief package, even though polls show that most Americans support a $15 minimum wage.
As governor of South Carolina, 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley waged a campaign against labor unions, stating that she would sacrifice jobs for her state in order to keep them out. Ever since Ronald Reagan broke up the Air Traffic Controllers Union 40 years ago, the GOP has branded itself as anti-labor and has been trying to crush unions for decades.
Nearly all Republican lawmakers in Congress oppose bills that would make it easier for workers to unionize. A case in point is a bill that would weaken unions by letting workers in all 50 states opt out of paying any union fees: This bill is sponsored by 111 Republican House members and is co-sponsored by 21 GOP senators.
In March of 2021, the Democratically-controlled House voted on the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The PRO Act seeks to make it easier for workers to secure collective bargaining rights. A total of 205 House Republicans voted against it, however, Democratic support was enough to send the bill to the Senate. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans are currently using their filibuster powers to prevent consideration of the bill in the Senate.
It’s funny that the GOP claims that it’s the party of the “working American” when practically all its members oppose the PRO Act and other bills aimed at giving bargaining powers to American workers.
Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) said it best: “The same Republicans who fought tooth and nail to reduce stimulus checks and unemployment insurance, championed union busting, and prevented an increase in the minimum wage from being included in COVID relief. They claim they are the party of the working people. Their idea of helping working people is voting for a $2 trillion tax cut for corporate donors and billionaire friends but refusing to vote for a $1.9 trillion investment in the American people.”
The majority of Americans like unions, and support the right to organize in order to obtain fair wages, better working conditions, and proper benefits.
With the 2024 elections almost a year away, let’s support and vote for those candidates who want to make America better by fighting for a fairer economy that provides better lives for all Americans, not just the rich.