America needs union jobs - By Elizabeth Warren and Steven A. Tolman

Elizabeth Warren is a Democratic US senator representing Massachusetts. Steven A. Tolman is president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

When he was gunned down by an assassin’s bullet in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis. His last political act was to support sanitation workers as they fought for economic security and dignity on the job. Dr. King understood that the struggle for equality and justice is not limited to civil rights. It also includes economic justice. So, as he led the great struggle for civil rights, he also fought for labor rights.

King was in Memphis to support a union because he knew that unions help lift the fortunes of working people in this country. Union jobs built America’s great middle class by lifting families out of poverty, by strengthening communities, and by providing workers with a voice in shaping the direction of our nation. Labor unions also played a powerful role in advancing the fight for racial justice and equality during the civil rights era, mobilizing members and providing financial support.

As the United States continues to grapple with racial and economic inequality, what was true during King’s time remains true today: When workers come together in a union, they gain power to win better wages and benefits for themselves and their families.

But over the last several decades, big corporations, billionaires, and their Republican allies in Washington have waged a war on working men and women through brutal anti-union efforts. These powerful interests have run a coordinated campaign in Congress, in state houses, in executive-branch agencies, and in the courts to rig key decisions in favor of employers at the expense of workers.

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https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/02/26/america-needs-union-jobs/WsO4qqsi2yaeiB6DYUwXqK/story.html