Labor Day is sacred to the American Labor movement, and it should be to all workers. It is a day to reflect on the battles fought and won where working people sacrificed so much, in many cases their lives, for the rights and protections many of us have today ― weekends, the 40-hour work week, sick time, health benefits, family and medical leave, retirement benefits, and the right to join a union.
More importantly, it is a solemn reminder that the labor movement’s fight is not over. Throughout the last two years, we have battled more than a pandemic. Industry giants continue to push radical, anti-worker agendas for a sole purpose, increasing profits off the backs of working families.
Last November, we elected a president who is a stronger ally to labor than any of his predecessors, appointing the first card-carrying union member in generations as our nation’s Secretary of Labor ― Massachusetts’ very own Martin J. Walsh. President Biden and Secretary Walsh have been champions of the Richard Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act because they understand that unions raise wages, reduce income inequality, promote workplace safety, negotiate health benefits and retirement security, and ensure fairness and dignity to millions of workers.
Collective bargaining enables workers to win a fair return on their work and a greater share of the profits they help produce and is a fundamental human right serving as the cornerstone of our basic labor laws ― but those laws have been eroded and exploited for years as corporations have rigged the rules in their favor.
Thank you to the entire Massachusetts Congressional Delegation for cosponsoring this historic legislation. The PRO Act will level the playing field by guaranteeing the right of both private and public sector workers to organize into unions and collectively bargain. It also clarifies the distinction between employees and independent contractors. To do so, it partly draws upon Massachusetts labor law to help deter the widespread misclassification of workers as independent contractors.
In Massachusetts, we are battling big tech giants from Silicon Valley as they continuously break the law by illegally denying their workers benefits like sick time, social security, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and paid family medical leave.
Instead of owning up to their wrongdoing, they now are trying to buy a Massachusetts law just like they did in California. They spent a record $225 million on Prop 22, which was just deemed unconstitutional.
Instead of trying to buy a law, these companies should follow the law, stop cheating workers and consumers, and start paying their fair share of taxes. App-based workers are employees, and should be governed by wage and hour rules with proper benefits.
Yes, this Labor Day is a time to be with family and be grateful for what our movement has provided for us. Let it also be a call to action and a reminder that our fight continues and we must persist through every struggle, because when we fight, we win. These are fundamental steps that our movement must take to ensure that we leave our children an economy that works for working people.
Steven A. Tolman is president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Adam Kaszynski is president of the North Shore Community Labor Council.
