After these exhausting years dealing with COVID-19, workers nationwide have stood up for basic dignity and respect on the job in a historic way. The pandemic reminded us of how essential labor is—not the labor of Wall Street but the labor that drives our hospitals, groceries, mail, and so much of our lives. Workers have been striking and picketing to demand fair contracts. They’ve been forming new unions on campuses and coffeehouses and walking out on low-wage jobs. We are also seeing the American public responding to their struggle with 71 percent approval of labor unions, the highest percentage Gallup has reported since 1965.
Republicans and their wealthy corporate donors feel threatened by the recent resurgence of the labor movement across the country and have announced their intention to fight back if they regain control in the midterm elections. House Republicans in the House Education and Labor Committee are looking to attack labor regulators in the Biden administration, such as Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, as well as the NLRB itself and the White House’s pro-worker task force, led by Vice President Harris and Secretary Walsh.
As people who work for a living take action, the Biden administration has been operating in the background to empower them, through fair NLRB processes, appointees across the administration who are willing to hold corporations accountable, and a policy agenda focused on working families. Biden understands that labor organizations help to institutionalize norms of equity and equality and narrow the pay divides along the lines of race and gender. Unionization also reduces racial animus among union members, which highlights why increasing the bargaining power of all US workers is key to creating a more equitable economy and a society better equipped to deal with institutional racism at work and in our communities.
As we celebrate Labor Day this year, let’s remember we will be voting in October and November to give the Biden administration more pro-union Democrats in Congress to strengthen the remarkable progress made during their first two years.
Check out our blog post on what the Biden administration has achieved so far in supporting American workers.
COVID-19 testing: Still important, but the free tests from USPS are running out!
There is now a deadline of this Friday, September 2—or while supplies last—for ordering your free COVID-19 rapid tests from the Biden Administration.
The USPS will mail any residential address in the US up to three batches of rapid tests. These tests are absolutely free to you—they’re already paid for by federal funding that’s started to run out.
Order your free tests ASAP, and check out our blog post for more testing resources!
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If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens. Our next meeting is on Thursday, Sep. 8. Details on how to register below.
ISF Federal Working Group meeting: Thursday, Sept. 8, 7:30–9 PM. Register here to join our regular Zoom meeting, where we work together to develop strategies for influencing our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to support a progressive agenda. You’re welcome to participate and contribute, even if you’ve never attended an ISF meeting before.
Bay Area Coalition Phone Banks: Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Help our friends at Swing Left talk to voters about the upcoming primaries and midterms. Join Swing Left and the Bay Area Coalition on Wednesday evenings, Saturday mornings, and Sunday afternoons to make calls to voters in California and around the nation. Sign up for a shift:
- TODAY, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 5–7 PM
- Saturday, Sept. 3, 10 AM–12 PM
- Sunday, Sept. 4, 1–3 PM. If you want to participate in person for a Sunday phone bank, RSVP here.
Voter registration drive in the California Central Valley with Swing Left: Saturdays. Swing Left needs your help registering voters in Central Valley CD-13 and CD-22, from Modesto to Bakersfield. Join them every weekend until Tuesday, November 8, for door-to-door and COVID-safe canvassing to register voters. Sign up here:
- Saturday, Sept. 3, 9 AM–3:30 PM
- Saturday, Sept. 10, 9 AM–3:30 PM
- Saturday, Sept. 17, 9 AM–3:30 PM
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
Today's image is an illustration by cartoonist Clifford Berryman, paying homage to the working man as the country celebrates Labor Day. Berryman shows Uncle Sam and a schoolboy bowing before a worker sitting among his tools, representing farmers, laborers and machinists.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
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