Senator Sanders: This Labor Day the Struggle Continues
Excerpts:
It is not a coincidence that the decline of the American middle class virtually mirrors the rapid decline in union membership. As workers lose their seat at the negotiating table, the share of national income going to middle class workers has gone down, while the percentage of income going to the very wealthy has gone up.
The benefits of joining a union are clear. Union workers earn 27 percent more, on average, than non-union workers. Over 76 percent of union workers have guaranteed defined benefit pension plans, while only 16 percent of non-union workers do. More than 82 percent of workers in unions have paid sick leave, compared to just 62 percent of non-union workers.
In order to revitalize American democracy we must overturn Citizens United, move to public funding of elections and end voter suppression.
We must demand that the wealthy and large corporations begin paying their fair share of taxes. We must break-up the large Wall Street financial banks and make sure that no institution in America is too big to fail. We must raise the minimum wage to a living wage, $15 an hour, and end the unconscionable and inequitable pay gap that currently exists between male and female workers. We must re-write our disastrous trade policies and make sure that trade agreements benefit workers and not just CEOs of large corporations. We must rebuild our crumbling infrastructure with a $1 trillion dollar investment and create up to 15 million good-paying jobs. We must pass a Medicare-for-all, single-payer health care system and guarantee health care as a right, not a privilege. We must make public colleges and universities tuition free for working families so that everyone can get a higher education regardless of income. Today, on Labor Day, we must recommit ourselves to bringing all working people together in the fight for a just and humane world.
https://medium.com/senator-bernie-sanders/this-labor-day-the-struggle-continues-dca9520de18b