This Labor Day, workers are realizing our own value

What does victory look like for the labor movement? Our movement will rise when we stop defining victory as not losing—and most of all when more workers realize our own value and the power of solidarity. 

• This Labor Day, workers are winning. Momentum is building. The balance of power is shifting. Across the country, working people are joining the fight for a better deal and a better life. 
• Last year, half a million people walked picket lines—the most in a generation—and that energy is only growing. Teachers in West Virginia, Arizona, and Oklahoma; Marriott workers in America’s major cities; Stop & Shop workers across New England; AT&T workers across the South — all refused to settle for less. 
• Nearly 1,000 union members were elected to public office last year, ushering in a series of pro-worker legislative victories throughout 2019. 

What does the labor movement stand for?

Workers are winning because we are standing together and communities are rallying behind us. We are the community and the community is us. We will not allow others to tell us what we are worth. We are defining our own value. 

Our value is a fair paycheck and much more: 

• It’s respect from our employer and coworkers. 
• It’s a say in our conditions at work. 
• It’s quality health care so we don’t go broke when we get sick. 
• It’s a secure retirement. 
• It’s an opportunity for training and advancement. 
• It’s a voice in technology and sharing the benefits of innovation. 

Put simply, workers are refusing to settle—at work, in the community, and in politics.