Shortly before Labor Day, the AFL-CIO publicized what it described as “record public support and unprecedented activism and organizing.” In late August, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond delivered an inaugural “State of the Unions” address where they released new polling which underscores the American people’s support of unions and their view of unions as critical to growing the middle class.
“The idea of a union may sound complicated, but in reality, unions are just a group of people coming together. They are about each of us becoming the most powerful version of ourselves that we possibly can,” said Shuler. “And there is nothing better than finding that power alongside the people we work with and being a part of something bigger than ourselves. That’s all a union is. It’s that simple. People in this country have been searching for their power for a long time now, young people especially.”
Redmond stated, “Every day, more and more working people are finding out that the labor movement is the solution to low wages and unsafe workplaces, to inequality and discrimination. That the labor movement is the only institution in America that has the infrastructure and reach to address and vanquish oppression in all its forms. That working people – standing together and standing up for one another – are an incredible force for progress at work, in our unions, in our economy and in our democracy.”
On the holiday itself, the SIU helped lead well-attended events in Houston and in Wilmington, California. The Houston hiring hall hosted more than 200 individuals for an inaugural Labor Day breakfast featuring remarks from local politicians and labor officials including SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey. The Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation sponsored the event.
In Wilmington, upwards of 30 SIU members, retirees and their family members took part in the 44th annual Labor Day parade sponsored by the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Labor Coalition. The parade route started close to the Wilmington hall, which was open for guests. According to news reports, several thousand people participated in what was billed as the “largest West Coast Labor Day solidarity parade” and the picnic that followed.
Based on results from polling conducted by the well-regarded firm GBAO, union members and other pro-labor individuals had much to celebrate. According to the AFLCIO, the new poll’s key findings include the following:
• Seven in 10 Americans (71%) support unions cutting across party lines. A majority of Republicans and more than two-thirds of Independents join nine in 10 (91%) Democrats in supporting unions.
• An unprecedented number of young Americans support unions. Nearly nine in 10 (88%) people younger than 30 view unions favorably.
• In the midst of a number of ongoing worker strikes around the country, Americans are strongly supportive of working people walking off the job for better wages and working conditions. Three fourths of Americans support workers going on strike and support is strong regardless of party affiliation.
• Americans are concerned about tech companies putting profits over the well-being of people in the implementation of artificial intelligence. According to the polling, 70% of people express worry that AI will displace workers.
In a Labor Day op-ed for Newsweek, Shuler wrote in part, “We need to start by organizing – making sure every person in this country who wants to join a union can do so, or gets help forming their own. We’re going to go into sectors of the economy that have never been unionized before – including these new clean energy and infrastructure jobs coming down the pike from President Biden’s trillions in investment – and make sure they’re good union jobs for this next generation.
“And as we get more people into good union jobs, we grow our power exponentially,” Shuler continued. “Think about what becomes possible: Our strikes and collective action will carry even more weight. We can stand up even more directly to big corporations. We can make unsafe workplaces safe and secure a family-sustaining wage. We can throw even more muscle into elections at the local and national level: protecting our reproductive rights, our voting rights, and a right to join a union – with the weight of tens of millions of Americans behind us. We can define the future of work on our terms, so that AI is used to make our jobs and our lives better instead of replacing us.
“That’s where we’re headed,” she concluded. “This Labor Day, we’re on the rise, driven by the energy and activism of working people all over this country. And I hope every American will join us to build the future we’re all hungry for.”
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