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On his first Labor Day in office, September 4, 1981, President Reagan published a “Message on the Observance of Labor Day.” It began like this: “Samuel Gompers, one of the first labor leaders in this country, said that Labor Day was a time to pledge ourselves to an even greater effort in the coming year. Samuel Gompers knew that the key to a prosperous future is to have faith in it, and that's why, for him, Labor Day stood for a celebration of tomorrow's promise and possibilities.” I rarely, if ever, agreed with Reagan, but I like this sentiment from Gompers, even if he was an unlikely choice for presidential approbation. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor and served as the organization's president from 1886 to 1894, but his views, as Labor leaders have recently noted, are not the views of today’s movement. He invoked racist and anti-immigrant sentiment to advance the movement he led.
Nor do I agree with most of the remainder of Reagan’s message, although there is a quote at the end I particularly like:
“Well, as President Eisenhower told us once: A crisis can be deadly when inert men are smothered in despair. But a crisis also can be the sharpest goad to our creative energies, particularly when we recognize it as a challenge and move to meet it in faith, in thought, and in courage. We must act today in the name of generations still to come.”
Reagan’s message was about the economy, about making government smaller and Reaganomics, what George Bush would later call Voodoo Economics on the campaign trail. But the Eisenhower quote fits our political moment and fight to hold onto democracy. Reagan quoted Eisenhower speaking in the context of the post-World War II international climate and challenges to democracy. His words resonate today, despite the different context. Eisenhower finished his thought like this:
“The American people, one hundred sixty-four million of us, must recognize that the unprecedented crises of these days-packed with danger though they may be—are in fullest truth challenges that can be met and will be met to the lasting good of our country and to the world.”
In other words, it’s when we give up that we are in trouble. Continuing to fight, even if progress is uneven and zigzags back and forth, ultimately bears results. That’s the lesson of the Labor movement in this country and it’s important that we hear it today.
The AFL-CIO played an important role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its President, George Meany, in his Labor Day address that year, noted that it was one thing to pass a law, and another to make acceptance of it a part of daily life. He vowed that Labor would continue its role; in other words, they would continue to show up even after the glamorous part was done. It’s the quiet work, done out of public view, that frequently matters the most. Laws have to be socialized before they can become part of our common practice.
Richard Trumka spoke on Labor Day in 2016, the last such event before Donald Trump became president. “[I]n 64 days,” he told an audience in Cleveland, Ohio, “you are going to help elect Hillary Clinton president and Tim Kaine vice president.” But that did not happen. Trumka understood the risk of electing Donald Trump and spoke about it with clarity:
Momentum is on our side. But we cannot afford to be complacent.
If we rest, Trump wins.
What can I say about Donald Trump?
You saw the convention here. It was like a bad horror movie.
Trump says he’s our friend. Let me ask you this.
What kind of friend wants to lower your wages?
What kind of friend refuses to pay when he owes you money?
What kind of friend sends your job overseas?
What kind of friend threatens your retirement?
What kind of friend calls you names because of the way you look or talk or worship?
Trump is not our friend. He is a fraud.
Not enough people listened as the election drew closer in 2016. They were willing to be deceived by the fraudster who is now using taxpayer dollars like his own personal funds. Now, Trump is fighting wars no one wants to satisfy his ego. He distracts in the most lunatic ways, like his attack on the Kennedy Center and his plan to build a triumphal arch, to duck accountability for other problems he has, like his grift and his connection to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Labor Day is a celebration of the workers who make this country strong. It started because two union leaders in New Jersey thought it was important to spend a day recognizing the hard-working people in their communities. But today, it’s about much more, as Labor leaders and their organizations gear up for the midterm elections, with so much at stake. This year, Labor Day is about all of us—anyone, regardless of party, background, or economic status, who cares about living in a democracy. It’s for everyone who has had enough of kleptocracy and kakistocracy and Donald Trump, and believes it’s time to restore constitutional checks and balances on his abuses of power. It’s for people who believe we must begin preparing for the 2028 elections now.
So many people have learned the lesson that Donald Trump is not on their side in the past 18 months. That for him, support is one-sided and purely transactional, and as soon as he doesn’t need you, you’re out. Government employees who lost their jobs to DOGE now know it. Trump voters whose family members have been detained by ICE and deported know it. Cattle ranchers and others whose businesses have been hurt by tariffs are learning that lesson.
In her “State of the Unions” address for this Labor Day on September 1, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler focused on economic data and the strain on families that Trump’s policies have created. She tweeted, “The State of the Unions is clear: Working people are angry. But we’re also organized, motivated and ready to fight for something better. More workers are joining unions. Millions are ready to vote. And no billionaire can match the power we have when we act together.”
With less than 60 days left until the midterm elections, it’s time to make all of that real. Labor Day sets the standard. Now it’s up to all of us to work to make it happen. We cannot be complacent about the outcome. We cannot give up because we feel despair.
Make sure everyone around you, everyone who might listen to you, is registered to vote.
Make sure the people you know have checked to make sure they’re on the active voter roll if they’re already registered, so they can fix their status now if necessary. Sometimes, people get moved to inactive status or removed and are unaware.
Make sure your people have ID, because we don’t know what this administration might try to pull, last minute or how the Supreme Court will react.
If your circle usually votes by mail, put in ballot requests as early as possible and have a Plan B in your toolkit in case there are problems and you need to vote in person.
Double check your polling place—if you’re one of the voters impacted by the closure of 93 polling places in Tarrant County, Texas, you need to know where you’re supposed to vote in this election.
Be ready to stand in long lines or face other inconveniences in order to be able to vote. Create community networks and support groups for people who may need help with childcare, elder care, or support if they lose wages at work. Some people may need transportation to the polls.
On July 4 this year, I wrote to you about holding “Celebrate Your Vote” parties to gather friends, neighbors, and family as we vote in the midterm elections. If you haven’t already, make plans. As I wrote to you then, “Trump wants to take away our right to vote? Let’s fight back, and make it fun.”