We have the FLSA to thank for the federal minimum wage, overtime rates, and worker protections we all rely on. Not to mention child labor laws.
Hi friend,
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) went into effect 87 years ago today.
We have the FLSA to thank for the federal minimum wage, overtime rates, and worker protections we all rely on. Not to mention child labor laws.
The FLSA would never have been passed without the strong support of organized labor. It didn’t happen on the first vote. It didn’t happen on the second or third vote. But with consistent, organized pressure, workers won.
The Fair Labor Standards Act changed work in America — but not for everyone.
Politicians in the Jim Crow South struck a deal with Northern Democrats to remove farm and domestic workers from the bill, cutting many Black Americans out of the new protections.
It took decades of fighting to change the law, and the struggle for equality at work and beyond continues today. MAGA Republicans continue to try to attack the FLSA and work to limit worker protections nationwide — but I’ll tell you this: that won’t happen in San Diego County.
It’s more important now than ever that we stand in solidarity with unions here in California and across the country.
Workers' rights are core to living in an equal and functioning society and democracy. Solidarity is such an enduring concept because it truly works.
We win when we stand together. It’s simple, but it’s true.
I’ll stand with unions and defend their right to organize for a better future — today, and every day.
Always in solidarity,
— Monica
Born and raised in San Diego, Monica Montgomery Steppe is an HBCU graduate and an attorney by trade. Monica believes in her heart that the neighborhoods and community members are vibrant and worthy of care and investment. She is running for re-election to the Board of Supervisors, District Four.
