Opinion: Labor Gains Are Your Gains

By Alec Helwig

The labor movement has a rich history, and by rich I mean soaked in blood and oppression. For decades workers on the front lines helped establish the norms we enjoy today because they were beaten by company paid thugs, paid in company money living in company homes, and were sometimes killed while they stood up for a better workplace. The safety measures we have today are built upon the bones of workers, even children, who died working for CEOs who would to anything to avoid implementing safety measures in their work places because it would affect their bottom line.

This isn’t a long time ago either, I’m talking just over a hundred years ago. Look it up and you’ll find that our labor history in schools is heavily censored because companies that make text books don’t want kids growing up thinking about Unions or destabilizing a labor market. Heck, check a search engine for labor history and you’ll find tons of articles about labor agitators who instigate violence, but that omit the working conditions and provocation from employers that led to it. That doesn’t even mention police and government involvement for companies’ interests.

We have a violent labor movement history for basic human rights and consideration. I think that’s pretty sad it had to come to that, but I don’t doubt it the way that workers are exploited.

Over the years though, we’ve gotten a lot of gains. The labor movement has made great strides, and it’s through two primary sources: support of our Unions and support of labor ideals at the voting booth.

Lower weekly work hours, higher pay, better benefits, retirement plans, leave programs; all of this is something we can agree we want regardless of our political affiliation, but there’s staunch opposition to it in the government. When we vote we’ve got to consider why there’s opposition, who it effects, and who’s to gain. Sometimes it’s not easy to reconcile our votes with our lifestyle because the colors don’t match up.

With the swipe of a pen we can lose this stuff and be forced to start from scratch again, and I’m not sure our membership is up to the task of those who came before were. It’s important to hang on to what we have by keeping full steam ahead, and representing the improvements we want to see in our lives. We have to advocate for ourselves, and we do that with our vote and Union activity. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, it’s never been easier to see how your vote will affect you.