Brothers and sisters,
For many Americans, Labor Day signifies the end of another summer, the start of school or just another welcomed day off from work.
For those of us involved in organized labor, it means so much more.
However, and whenever you are able to celebrate, I ask that you take time this Labor Day to educate those around you of how this country’s labor movement has impacted the working conditions for EVERYONE in this nation.
What this holiday is emblematic of is the celebration of the core values of SMART-TD and all Americans who built and are part of this country’s blue-collar middle class.
The contributions of the labor community keep that dream alive in this country today. The holiday’s a chance to reflect on the achievements of our predecessors. Their efforts provided the pathway to establishing lives today where the work you are willing to do ideally reflects your quality of life.
With that in mind, we ask that you and your family recognize that the fight is never over and that by intensifying your support for those engaged in labor fights, we can continue to extend that path here in the present.
This holiday weekend, I ask that we commit as union brothers and sisters to do two things:
First, we should reflect on these men and women who fought before and are fighting now. It strengthens this union and all of labor when we take the time to learn about labor history. Perspective is a powerful tool. The collective power of union solidarity is as important to our lives today as it was to workers in the 1800s. The stands we make against management’s greed are the same fights that have gone on for hundreds of years.
Second, this weekend is an opportunity for all of us engaged in the struggle to participate. We can take inventory of whether our commitment to our union is proportionate to what those who laid the groundwork before us have done. Child labor laws, minimum wages, the sanctity of health care being part of the compensation for our labor WERE NOT GIVEN TO US. They were fought for because we in labor took a stand.
The past four years have been among the most productive in the history of this country’s labor movement. Gains made by rail labor and also in the quality of life for working-class Americans across the country will be seen as key points in this era in American labor history.
Our movement’s recent progress was in no small part due to the actions taken by labor. It also was facilitated by people in power who value our viewpoint. Labor overall has benefited from a federal government that views laborers as experts in their respective fields, rather than CEOs and managers who dictate from on high, draw the largest paychecks and blatantly ignore the fact that labor contributes to their profits.
As we approach November, it is imperative that we factor this into our process of determining whom we should support. Do we want to face a resurgence of class warfare that threatens to erase historic gains and protections the labor movement has earned? Or do we want to see our progress be preserved and continue?
The world we live in provides many challenges to all in labor. We need every one of our proud members to be engaged to better the lives of all.
Let us keep the trails that were blazed by our predecessors clear, open, and accessible to all and make our own.
Please stay safe this holiday weekend!
In solidarity,
Jeremy R. Ferguson,
President, SMART Transportation Division