Labor Day weekend is usually a time to celebrate working people, for us to enjoy and reflect on our important work, and to remember our hard-fought achievements. This year, however, takes on a different and more urgent tone. Labor Day is a call to action as much as it’s an earned day of rest. More than ever, the labor movement must unite during these unprecedented times to defend the rights of workers and deeply engage in the fight for racial justice.

We should not diminish the intersections between struggles for equity and justice and the plight and sacrifice of the worker. This shared experience is the foundation for a diverse and powerful union movement rooted in the fight for dignity for all. 

COVID-19 has forever changed our lives and the way we do our jobs. Essential workers put their health at risk every day to move goods, provide health care, build affordable housing, and more. Unemployed members are struggling, many waiting for hours in a line of cars to pick up food for their families.  

While we won’t be gathering in person this year as is our usual SBLC tradition, we are together in our shared belief that unions are the best vehicle for working people to secure a better life. To protect what the labor movement has worked so hard to gain, we must be united and organized as we prepare to win critical elections in November. We can’t be successful without you so please sign up for a volunteer shift. Together, we will make it through these challenging times and continue building union power in the South Bay.