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As we enjoy the final days of summer with friends, family, parades, and (hopefully) some good BBQ -- we should also recognize and celebrate the advocacy of the Labor movement, which helped build the Middle Class and fought for the workers’ protections many of us now enjoy.

Here in Michigan, we’ve always been at the forefront of the Labor movement. The annual Detroit Labor Day parade began in 1884, a decade before Labor Day was a federally recognized holiday, with over 50,000 people rallying in support of workers’ demands for better pay and working conditions. We remain a leader in union membership, and consider ourselves the birthplace of the Middle Class: where a person working on the line in a plant could afford the car they were building. We are one of the most unionized states in the country.

And this year, Labor Day is happening during a critical inflection point for workers’ rights. Many companies are making record profits and inflation means current pay doesn’t go as far. To that end, 97% of UAW’s Big Three members just voted to authorize a strike if they cannot reach a fair contract with the Big Three car companies – a strike that will begin in just a few days.

And just as unions across the country are exercising their right to collectively bargain for fairer wages and better working conditions, new employees are looking at union members. Michigan is home to some of the first Starbucks to be unionized and the first Chipotle to vote to unionize. Given all this, it’s more important than ever that Michigan have a leader who is fighting for workers rights. I have centered my campaign for U.S. Senate around the need to stand up for workers – which is why 16 of Michigan’s biggest labor unions – representing nearly 200,000 workers – have endorsed our campaign.

As a member of Congress, I co-sponsored the Protecting the Right to Organize Act – sweeping legislation that would federally protect organizers rights to organize and form a union, as well as prevent employers from union busting. In 2021, I co-sponsored the Tax Fairness for Workers Act, which would allow above-the-line tax deductions for union dues and expenses. This year, I co-sponsored the No Tax Deductions for Union Busting Act – legislation that would end the taxpayer subsidization of anti-union activity by corporations.

We still have work to do to ensure workers are treated with dignity and respect, and are able to share in the value – financial and otherwise – that their work is producing. Thanks for being part of the fight.

Onward,

Elissa
 


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