Statement
Statement from County Executive Marc Elrich on the Importance of Labor Day
For Immediate Release: Tuesday 5 September
As we come to the end of Labor Day, I wanted to acknowledge and appreciate the role of labor unions in our county and in the history of this country.
As I’ve said before, I am proud of the partnership we have with our unions that represent County employees. It makes our government better. And unions make our country better.
Coming out of the pandemic, it’s good to remember that while many people were able to work from home and stay safe, thousands of our employees worked front line jobs and got them done in the face of dangers many of us were able to avoid. And by the same token I think about the nurses, staff, and doctors who did not shy away from working to mitigate the toll that covid was taking on our residents, not just here but around the country.
The history of our economy has long periods that were built on the brutal exploitation of labor -poverty wages, long working hours, unsafe working conditions and, in fact, for far too long, state, local and the federal governments saw unions as an enemy, calling in troops to stop strikes, break unions, punish workers who sought to organize their fellow workers inso that they could have a seat at the table. Unions have been at the forefront of every important justice issue in this country from minimum wage to safe working conditions to the end of child labor to a 40-hour workweek (and the weekend!). The labor movement has been the leading voice for workers and for economic and social justice in this country. At the height of union membership, they built a working class that could dream of a better future for their children, who could achieve owning their own homes and who could enjoy life without having to worry about keeping a roof over their family’s head or feeding their children. Unions made this country strong.
My father said to me more than once that labor never gets its fair due. I remember him talking about the coal and steel strikes that were not unheard of in my youth, and about how hard, wearing and dangerous those jobs were. And he believed that labor deserved a seat at the table because, as he said, you could pile all the wealth of the stockholders at the front of a coal mine, but not an ounce of coal will come out that mine until human labor goes to work to bring it out. Building wealth required labor and capital together, but capital had and still has far more power than labor in this equation.
I hope that we can all appreciate the labor and laborers who make our economy possible and, fundamentally, make it work. That’s why Labor Day is important and why we should remember and acknowledge labor’s importance. One of the most encouraging trends that seems to be emerging is a renewed interest in union organizing and I wish them great success. My appreciation goes out to all the labor leaders, union members, and other workers (who are not yet in unions) today and everyday.
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Release ID: 23-022