Labor Omnia Vincit
Tuesday I walked out to my car for lunch as I do every day and found this hand written note on my windshield. My first thought was that someone was giving me shit about my parking job, which would have been asinine as I don’t park like a shithead.
Friday was the anniversary of us filing to unionize.
Oklahoma’s state motto is tied to several unions and the labor movement in general which is interesting because Oklahoma has a good amount of history in socialism. I’m not going to take you on a historical journey here. Just tying a few things together.
So this note… it said “Thank you for your hard work & helping make America union strong again. My 2x great grandfather organized TX meat packing plants. Your efforts will be remembered.” Of course this sent me emotionally. I am just one person, it took so many amazing people. I am honored to have been able to work such a great group to accomplish what we accomplished. The adversity we faced was palpable. We are just a part of a growing labor movement across the world. We stand on the shoulders of those labor organizers that came before us, the ones that paved the way, some of which truly sacrificed their lives. It’s truly an honor to be just a small part of that. This is a moment in time that will go down in history. We look back at the major labor movements that have shaped the landscape of the modern workforce and can identify things that have largely been taken for granted - 8 hour work day, weekends/ two days off. You can try and argue that things would have changed and eventually we would have had these things without unions and the greater labor movement. I would say that greed is a hell of a drug and the people with the money don’t readily want to share… even when they clearly have an over abundance. The proof is in the last 40 years of the growing disparity of wages between the CEO’s and average worker. Stock buy backs, deregulations, etc. Then there is the propaganda centered around unions, the dividing of the working class and fear mongering. It’s a crying ass shame, really.
All of that to say this Labor Day is really hitting in a different, more real way. We’ve put in a lot of hard work, but there is still so much more to do. We are actively working on our first contract. I’m honored to have been selected by my coworkers to sit on the bargaining committee and advocate for them. If you are so lucky to have two days off each week, thank a union. If you enjoy overtime pay, thank a union. If you enjoy 8 hour days, thank a union. It is the wealthy business owners that are looking to squeeze more and more out of you. To grind you down and use you up. You are a mere commodity to them. Don’t think so? Calculate the disparity in the average worker pay versus theirs.
Anyways, happy Labor Day.
