Hi John,
First, I want to acknowledge it's been a heckuva week -- our country ended a 20-year war, climate change fueled a hurricane that has left millions without power and much of the Northeast underwater, and millions of Americans now live under a near-total abortion ban.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, outraged, or hopeless, please know you are not alone.
I've felt all of those things this week and more. Which is why I'm glad we're on the cusp of Labor Day weekend.
Because one: We need rest.
And two: Labor Day honors all workers and those who've organized for better and safer working conditions. And anytime I find myself feeling hopeless, I always think about the organizers who came before me and the odds they faced.
Labor organizers through much of the 1800s and early 1900s were taking on a monumental fight. They were facing off against monopolists who had hoarded power through violent law enforcement and paid off politicians who kept the system rigged. Sound familiar?
But despite it all, labor leaders and workers didn't give up. They organized, they protested, they went on strike, and many lost their lives -- they demanded better until they won. It is thanks to their sacrifices that we have a weekend, a minimum wage, and safety protections in our workplaces.
And they didn't stop there. The Labor movement has intersected with civil rights, LGBTQIA+ equality, feminism, and more.
Labor unites us all. Never forget that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while supporting striking sanitation workers in Memphis. And Harvey Milk got his start bringing together Teamsters and gay bars in the fight to get beer distributors to sign a union contract (and in return for the LGBTQIA+ community's support, the Teamsters agreed to hire more gay drivers).
What we know from the progressive movement's history is this: We are stronger together. We can win impossible fights when we unite -- across race, gender, sexuality, religion, ability, language, age, and immigration status.
Have a rest-filled weekend. And then, let's get back to the work of our movement.
In solidarity,
Ross Morales Rocketto
Co-Founder
Run for Something
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Run for Something is a grassroots-powered organization that recruits and empowers young progressives running for local office, with the goal of winning permanent power for decades to come. We've elected 500 diverse, young progressives to power by relying on support from grassroots donors pitching in a little to create big change. Please chip in now to help our candidates continue running and winning.
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