Overmyer
WNY– It doesn’t take a scholar to know big corporations, the politicians who take their money and other wealthy interests have rigged our economy, our federal budget and the political process to the detriment of working people.
For decades, hard-working middle class and working poor Americans have been robbed of the freedom to earn a decent living, maintain a work-life balance, retire with dignity and take a loved one to the doctor or attend a parent-teacher conference without fear of retaliation or losing a job.
As corporations and the rich continue to benefit from record breaking wealth while working people find it harder and harder to make ends meet, joining together to form unions is one way for working people to level the playing field. By forming strong unions and having the ability to collectively bargain with employers, workers are able to negotiate fair wages and benefits that support their families and better working conditions.
When working people have the freedom to join strong unions and negotiate a fair return for their craft, everybody wins– even corporations and oligarchs. Employees can garner a fair wage and American productivity increases— and the promise of earning a living wage will perpetuate a belief that an American Dream can still exist in today’s world.
Organized labor also uses its collective voice to advocate for policies that benefit all working people – like increases to the minimum wage, affordable health care for our families, safer neighborhoods and great public schools for our children.
On this day and every day forward, we will be exposing and confronting this rigged system – and the politicians and corporations who prop it up. It is time we put working people — the folks who actually create the wealth for our country front and center in a national conversation about social and economic justice. It’s time for all working people to find this common bond and join together to seize our rightful place in our global economy.
When working people organize into unions, it is one of the most effective ways for Americans to come together and counter the troubling influence that billionaires and corporate CEO’s continue to have on our economy and political process. Organized labor is the last line of defense for working people to have a voice in this great democratic experiment called America. We have a simple message to the moneyed elite—we are not going anywhere. We will challenge you every step of the way.
Working people and unions are the threads that hold the fabric of our communities together. We will not let anyone or anything unravel the promise of our 21st century American Dream. Simply put, America needs unions now more than ever.
-Ove Overmyer
Overmyer is the Western New York Region spokesperson for the Civil Service Employees Association.
