To paraphrase Mark Twain: Reports of labor's death are greatly exaggerated. While some might like to write our obituary, there's too much at stake for us to let that happen.
We live in a challenging time, when extremism is undermining our democracy and the ability to find reasonable and responsible common ground.
It's made worse by the increasing power of money to buy influence and ignore people. Just consider the staggering amounts of money being spent to misrepresent the truth about working people and manipulate public opinion. Keep in mind that no one spends that kind of money without looking for something in return, and you better believe their payoff is at your expense.
Do we really want a country where the super wealthy get richer and richer while the rest of us get poorer and poorer? Do we want a country where working in public service isn't valued and damns you to second-class citizenship? Do we want a country where facts don't mean anything, especially if you've got the money to drown everything out with lies? Do we want a country where you're either born into affluence or tough luck?
The answer is no. We need balance, community and opportunity. But all of those things listed above are coming to reality in America and it's up to all of us to change it.
More than ever before, we need a strong labor movement to stand up for what's right because the future of the American Dream depends on it.
You don't need a Nobel Prize in economics to understand that working people do better in terms of wages, benefits and working conditions when they have a union. And it's just as clear all Americans do better when unions are strong.
We need to work together to make America better.
