Ralph Nader. (photo: unknown)
01 September 13
or
far too many Americans, Labor Day is simply another day off, another
store sale and another small parade. The meaning of the holiday has been
dulled by both rampant commercialism and public apathy. Where is the
passion for elevating the wellbeing of American workers? Shouldn't Labor
Day be a time to gather, contemplate and celebrate more just treatment
of all those who toil without proper recognition or compensation?
Labor Day is the ideal time to highlight the
hard-fought, historic victories already enjoyed by American workers, and
push for long-overdue health and safety measures and increased economic
benefits for those left behind by casino capitalism. After all, it was
the labor movement in the early 20th century that brought us such
advances as the minimum wage, overtime pay, the five-day work week, the
banning of child labor and more.
The reality is that big corporations have abandoned
American workers by taking jobs and industries to communist and fascist
regimes abroad -- regimes that oppress their workers and enforce
serf-level salaries and hideous working conditions. America's working
men and women have also largely been abandoned by the corporate
dominated Republican and Democrat two-party duopoly, whatever their
rhetorical differences may be. The federal minimum wage has been allowed
to languish far behind inflation as corporate bosses' pay skyrockets.
The gap between worker salaries and CEO pay widens, even as worker
productivity rises. Corporate CEO's in America make approximately 340
times more than that of the average worker. In 1980, by comparison, CEO
pay was 42 times greater.
Look to the fast food strikers around the country for
inspiration. Backed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU),
workers in cities across America are demanding fair pay at $15 an hour
and the right to unionize. Beginning in New York City and spreading to
other major cities, workers are beginning to rally and speak out against
their poverty wages from hugely profitable fast food chains. Willietta
Dukes, in a piece for The Guardian, writes:
Burger King says they can't pay employees, like me, higher wages because it would force them out of business. Yet last year it made $117m[illion] in profits and its CEO took home $6.47m[illion]. It would take me 634 years to earn that much.
I've worked in fast food for 15 years, and I can't even afford my own rent payments. We just want fairness and to be able to provide for our families. No one who works every day should be forced to be homeless.
Where are the other advocates for American workers? Now is the time to speak out and push for long-overdue action.
Where is President Obama? Candidate Obama promised
that he would press for a $9.50 federal minimum wage by 2011. Now, in
2013, he has settled for $9 by 2015. This is far less than what workers
made in 1968, adjusted for inflation. If the minimum wage had kept up
with inflation, it would be $10.70 today. If it kept up with worker
productivity in the corporate sector, it would be $22.
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor
Standards Act into law in 1938 -- which established the federal minimum
wage amongst other things -- it was in the face of considerable
opposition and criticism from Big Business, not to mention in the midst
of The Great Depression. This is the type of courageous leadership we
need from the White House today.
A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal
cited an analysis by Mark M. Gray, a researcher at Georgetown
University, who found that President Obama "mentions the poor in his
speeches less than any other president in decades" -- even Ronald Reagan
mentioned the poor in his speeches and public statements about twice as
frequently.
What of the AFL-CIO, which represents 13 million
American workers? I recently wrote a letter to its president, Richard
Trumka, asking for his leadership in pushing for more attention about
the plight of workers on this Labor Day. No response. The AFL-CIO has an
opportunity for a major showing with rallies before the White House and
Congress. Some reporters in the mainstream press have indicated they do
not think the push for a higher minimum wage is serious without Mr.
Trumka, President Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid exerting serious efforts.
What of former President Bill Clinton? In his speech
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington,
President Clinton made passing rhetorical reference to "building a
modern economy of good jobs and rising incomes." But the time for simply
talking about these issues is long past. What about publicly supporting
Rep. Alan Grayson's bill in Congress (H.R. 1346) which provides for a
$10.50 minimum wage to catch up with 1968, and allow $30 million workers
to afford more of life's necessities for themselves and their children?
The support of Mr. Clinton might help galvanize the media and those in
Congress to make this into the front burner issue it deserves to be.
And, what about the leading Democratic Presidential
candidates for 2016 -- Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden? Why
aren't they seriously championing this important cause that is both
good for the economy and for workers and their children?
In an ideal world, the Sunday political shows the day
before Labor Day would feature various prominent labor leaders and
discuss key issues like the minimum wage, income equality, trade and
more.
Labor Day should be a moment for the nation to shine a
light upon the rights and plights of the nation's workers and recognize
the need to reform restrictive labor laws, such as the notorious
Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. After all, workers are the backbone of the
economy.
(See here
for facts and information on our efforts to raise the minimum wage to
catch up with 1968, inflation adjusted, and find out how to get
involved.)
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