john, Labor Day is more than the unofficial end of summer, or a day we have off from work.

Labor Day grew out of violent clashes between labor and police during the Haymarket Riot in 1886. Thousands of workers in Chicago took to the streets to demand an eight-hour workday.

Eight years later, workers went on strike to protest 16-hour workdays and low wages at the Pullman Palace Car Company, which manufactured railroad cars in a plant near Chicago. This was the beginning of the labor movement.

Working an eight-hour workday is pretty basic now, but before the labor movement and Unions, workers were asked to work longer hours for lower wages.

Bargaining with employers for higher wages is also thanks to the Labor movement and is a necessary step to ensure workers are paid what they deserve.

Establishing a federal minimum wage was a key way to level the playing field for all workers and their families — establishing a minimum wage allowed American families, including workers not a part of a union, to support a family, participate in public life, and maintain an “American standard of living." Now, we have to continue the fight for a $15 federal minimum wage.

Honoring the work that unions and the labor movement have done is critical to ensure that we can continue to fight for workers and families. We must celebrate Labor Day so that we can continue the fight of the labor leaders who came before us.

That is what Labor Day is about, and why I’m so proud to be endorsed by many in the labor movement. It’s about workers, families, and our future.

In solidarity,

John

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