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Dear John,
With Labor Day approaching, it’s important for us to recognize the vital role of unions in America. There’s no better example of their importance than the history behind how organized labor won us the weekend.
In the late nineteenth century, many workers labored seven days a week, sometimes up to a grueling 100 hours in grueling conditions.
Workers were fed up. Many began to unionize and take to the streets in protest. They were met with an onslaught of violence from bosses, union busters, and law enforcement -- but they didn’t give up.
As you’ll see in our latest video, their sacrifice is a big reason why so many of us are able to enjoy time off.
There was also another key person involved in the fight for weekends: Frances Perkins.
Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and the first female cabinet secretary, pushed the president to support her pro-labor agenda, leading to the 40-hour work week and many other protections that today’s workers have on the job.
But while many workers now enjoy weekends won by organized labor, the fight continues for those who don’t.
A rising number of contract employees, sometimes known as “gig workers,” are putting in backbreaking hours without the protections afforded to full-time workers.
This Labor Day weekend, let’s renew the call for ALL workers to be afforded the dignity -- and time off from work -- they deserve. Check out our video, click ‘like’, and share to help us reach the largest audience possible over the holiday weekend.
In solidarity,
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
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