Labor Day: It’s Better in a Union
By Charles Wowkanech
New Jersey State AFL-CIO President
As you celebrate Labor Day with friends and family, be sure to remember the sacrifices made by working families who have made the rights we enjoy today possible.
Since the 19th century, Labor Day has served as a reminder to all that the labor movement drives our democracy, demanding justice, and equality for all.
This Labor Day, we are proud to celebrate all the working men and women in our state. It is thanks to their efforts and achievements that New Jersey is at the very heart of the national labor movement.
At the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, we have stood with New Jersey’s workers from every sector of the labor movement on the issues that matter most to them, working with legislators to promote the adoption of federal and state laws. In the last year, we walked the picket lines with nurses, electrical workers, educators, building trades and autoworkers. We also represented working families on issues including unemployment insurance for striking workers, paid family and sick leave, the prevailing wage, and ground-breaking legislation for cannabis workers, advocating for labor peace agreements. Committed to continuously updating our state’s transportation infrastructure to respond to the needs of working families, we supported New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund, to ensure that we continue to attract business to New Jersey and keep our state competitive. However, as the November election approaches, the improvements that we have made on behalf of all workers are on the line.
With just 64 days left until one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime, we must all come together to ensure that the voice of labor is heard. The most effective way to protect our right to organize, our retirement security, and our access to quality affordable healthcare, is to vote for the AFL-CIO’s endorsed candidates. We must look to our seasoned labor leaders who have vital on the ground experience and have a first-hand understanding of the issues that impact working families today.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have union member’s backs. They understand that when unions are strong, America is strong. They’ll fight for working people every single day. Now it is our turn to stand with them through the 64 days that we have left until the November Election.
If we take swift action to get out the vote, our efforts will pay off on Election Day. At the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, we are prepared to do the work. Between now and the election, we must staff the phones, organize labor walks, reach voters through the mail, and speak to our members, encouraging each of them to vote.
This Labor Day, we will celebrate the history of organized labor in our country, while we look forward to a union strong future. To protect our rights, we must ensure union members have a seat at the table, at every level of government.
We wish you a restful and reflective Labor Day this weekend, as we prepare to stand together in the upcoming election for the sake of all working people.
Charles Wowkanech…..As the daughter of a Union Carpenter, I thank and commend you for this informative, well-written, and inspiring column.
It was with pride that my dad worked/labored as a union carpenter, and it was with pride he carried his treasured Union Carpenter Card in his wallet.
True—-Your Title…..Labor Day: It’s Better in a Union
Also True——Every Day: It’s Better in a Union.
Union carpenter family here. We are able to live decently in retirement thanks to Union benefits. Reading about billionaires union busting is just disgusting, un-American.
Non-union workers working on union jobs still get the same pay as union workers. It’s the law.
That’s right, Thomas Jefferson. That is because there are hypocrites like you who write that “all men are created equal” but then enslave as many as you can in low pay jobs in many states who employ “right to work”(under slave-like conditions.) You and your ilk will be defeated in November.
WNY Voter. If unions are so great, why are so many losing membership in large amounts????? https://www.hoover.org/research/decline-unions-good-news. I guess trying to unionize companies with promises of $20/hr. for entry level jobs is not a winning result. See what happened in California and NY when companies were forced to pay their entry level workers $20/hr. Their hours were cut, many were laid off, and companies started going out of business. All because of “unionization”. Remember GM and the UAW. They needed a bailout from the taxpayers because they were overpaid.
When are you going to provide us with any enlightening, educated comments on this subject. When are you going to make reasoned, cogent arguments on subjects instead of your vile hatred personal ad hominem attacks on anyone not a Left-wing, liberal, Democrat, Marxist, Communist????? We’re waiting!!!!
Thomas Jefferson, I don’t believe you are willing to be enlightened. You favor a Supply-Side economy. I favor a Demand-Side economy. In the example about fast food workers you cited, these workers were already being worked to their limits by greedy owners. So when the greedy owners cut back on the number of employees, it was IMPOSSIBLE for the remaining workers to handle the same volume of customers and work related tasks as before. That is why some
Franchise locations folded. GM and The others in Detroit needed a bailout because they could not keep up with better cars being made overseas. Furthermore, car Companies in Japan had a competitive advantage over US companies because their government paid much of health care costs for their workers, while your supply-side Republican Party fought tooth and nail against National Health Insurance. It is you and your supply siders that are the real parasites here.
Call me a “parasite”, yet you agree with my points on why companies are closing their doors over $20/hr. and bailouts for the car companies because Japan MADE BETTER CARS–AND STILL DOES!!!!!!!
As for the workers being worked to their limits by greedy owners, do you think maybe the “greedy” owners were cutting their workforce because they couldn’t make a profit and keep the doors opened????? The premise of owning a business is to make a profit. If that means cutting the workforce to do so, then that’s one avenue to use. Since you never ran a business, and I have, you don’t know what you’re talking about.