Today’s Action: Support Unions

Unions received a blow last month with a right-wing Supreme Court decision that overturned a 40-year precedent on labor rights. Going forward, unions will have less funds to advocate on behalf of and protect workers.

Labor unions have been the backbone of America since the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800’s. It’s unions we have to thank for safe working conditions, liveable wages, job benefits, overtime, the minimum wage, weekends — and very often, the lack of unions is to blame when those values are missing from a place of employment.

The power of working people truly does lie in unions — and with healthcare rights quickly disappearing and a president who makes no secret of prioritizing corporate interests, it’s more important than ever that we support and participate in organized labor.

In a union? Get to your union website today, sign up for your next meeting, and see what’s happening to mobilize against this latest move from the Supreme Court. No union? You can create one. The AFL-CIO has the tools and people to help you stand up for yourself and all workers around you.

Corporate America works hand-in-hand with the Republican party to crush the power of working people. Today, many of the biggest employers in the United States are aggressively non-unionized, part of an overall, union membership decline for a half century. How has that been for working people? Here’s a graph of union membership and income inequality over the last century:

The fact is, unions are the single best tool workers have to combat income inequality, protect their rights, and fight for their own prosperity. There isn’t even a close second. An attack on unions is an attack on working people — period.

Thankfully, with a little help from the AFL-CIO, the power to organize is no further than the person in the mirror looking back at you.

If you’re in a union, call or get on the website and find out today what efforts are being made to strengthen workers rights. No union? No problem. The AFL-CIO has people and tools ready to assist you.

You are the union and the union is you.