[The capitalist system doesn’t just drive wealth inequality—it
is designed to exploit and undermine the working class and to protect
the power and economic interests of the wealthy. ]
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WE DEMAND BOLD ACTION FOR ALL WORKING PEOPLE  
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The Movement for Black Lives M4bl
September 6, 2021
The Movement for Black Lives M4bl [[link removed]]

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_ The capitalist system doesn’t just drive wealth inequality—it
is designed to exploit and undermine the working class and to protect
the power and economic interests of the wealthy. _

,

 

Family,

This Labor Day, debates about working conditions, wages, and who
deserves what in the United States are everywhere.

Although many people lost their jobs, wages, and suffered immensely
during the pandemic, for some it provided an opening to experience
what having enough money and time feels like. It also laid bare what
low-wage, underemployed, and jobless people have been shouting for
decades: The capitalist system doesn’t just drive wealth
inequality—it is designed to exploit and undermine the working class
and to protect the power and economic interests of the wealthy.

THIS LABOR DAY, WE DEMAND THE WHITE HOUSE TAKE BOLD ACTION FOR ALL
WORKERS NOW
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WE NEED CONGRESS AND THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO PROTECT THE CRITICAL
INVESTMENTS IN THE HUMAN INFRASTRUCTURE BILL FROM ANY ATTEMPTS TO
SEPARATE IT FROM THE PUSH FOR GENERAL INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING.

Among other things, Labor Day observes the fight for dignified
employment, safe working conditions, and a fair wage. Black workers
have been at the vanguard of protecting living and working conditions
for Black communities in the U.S. In 1866, a group of newly
emancipated Black women working as laundresses in Jackson,
Mississippi, formed the state’s first labor union, the Washerwomen
of Jackson. Excluded from white trade unions, free Blacks organized
the Colored National Labor Union in 1869 to improve conditions for
Black ship caulkers. Then, in the early 20th century, Lucy Parsons, a
Black anarchist, co-founded three influential radical unions in
Chicago.

Even when labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 were
implemented, Black workers—especially domestic and agricultural
workers—were excluded from protection. Today, the erosion of unions
means workers have less power to bargain for their conditions,
pensions have become rare, and wages are stagnant.

One group—Black home-care workers—are the backbone of our economy
and make all other work possible, yet they have been among the first
to lose income and the last to receive relief during the COVID
pandemic. The country now faces record job losses; women, and
disproportionately women of color and immigrants, are feeling the
deepest impact.

Right now, millions of working people are leaving jobs with hazardous
conditions and insufficient wages and benefits, in search of more
fulfilling and dignified work. This mass exodus is made possible by
everyday people who imagine a life beyond work—with their loved
ones, experiencing joy and rest.

We need more access to job training and placement for Black workers
and other groups who have historically faced the highest rates of
chronic unemployment and underemployment due to racism and
discrimination. We also need to create an affirmative process to
remove the threat of deportation and grant work authorization to
workers who have denounced workplace abuses.

For a comprehensive framework for a society that values Black lives,
repairs past harms, and invests in Black communities, check out the
Movement for Black Lives' Vision for Black Lives
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policy platform.

In Black love,
The Movement for Black Lives

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