Brothers, sisters and friends, I want to wish you and your families a happy Labor Day. I know this year Labor Day will be nothing like our celebrations of the past. Many parades are canceled, backyard barbecues will likely be smaller or not even held this year. But while we may not be together, we are still united as a union and as a movement. This Labor Day we celebrate workers – especially essential workers like BCTGM...
On Labor Day, we carve out time to recognize and honor the wonderful achievements of America’s working people. Many of us will spend the day with close family and dear friends at a barbecue, picnic or other community event. While we enjoy the fellowship of our loved ones, it is important to reflect on what strengthens and nurtures the lives and communities of working people and how we can continue to protect our ability to...
64% of Americans approve of labor unionsSince 1970, higher only in 1999 (66%) and 2003 (65%)Up 16 points from 2008, with party groups showing similar increases According to a recent Gallop poll, 64% of Americans approve of labor unions, surpassing 60% for the third consecutive year and up 16 percentage points from its 2009 low point. This comes 125 years after President Grover Cleveland signed a law establishing the Labor Day holiday after a period...
Today, even as we ride a wave of pro-worker momentum, our economy remains badly out of balance. The CEO-to- worker pay ratio in 2016 was an obscene 347 to 1. Meanwhile, many corporations are shipping jobs overseas and stashing profits offshore to avoid paying taxes. To add insult to injury, corporate-backed politicians continue to try to take away the freedoms unions have won for all of us. Yet inequality is not inevitable. Our economy is nothing more...
Labor Day is a welcome, and well-deserved, day off for millions of American workers and their families. But it’s worth remembering that Labor day is more than just a three-day weekend. Labor Day “is a creation of the labor movement" and is “dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.” Here are four important accomplishments of the labor movement that benefit all Americans: 1) Unions Helped End Child Labor. Union organizing and child labor reform were...
Labor Day is the unofficial end of the summer holiday season. While the day honors the hardworking men and women who make this nation go and grow, the weekend also gives us a chance for one more big backyard barbecue blowout. Here are some BCTGM-made goods to get your barbecue off to a great start. The products listed here are just some of the BCTGM-made products and is not inclusive of every BCTGM local or union-made product....
Thomas E. Perez, the U.S. secretary of labor, sends you this message on Labor Day: Brother and Sisters, From the U.S. Department of Labor, where I proudly work in a building named for my great predecessor Frances Perkins, let me wish all of my friends in the AFL-CIO and your families—wherever you are—a safe, happy and healthy Labor Day. This Labor Day feels special in many ways: we’re celebrating 100 years of the Labor Department’s tireless efforts...
American Rights at Work - What do “Covert Affairs” star Christopher Gorham, Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, and the Cleveland Browns’ Benjamin Watson have in common? They’re all proud union members and they’re all participating in our third annual Labor Day Tweet-a-Thon. Each year, our goal is simple: Take over Twitter during the holiday weekend, using the #unionmember hashtag to spread a positive message about the value of unions. Last year, American Rights at Work and...