When I was a kid over 60 years ago, I remember hearing these lyrics either on the radio or on a TV variety show:

“You load sixteen tons, whattaya get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter don’cha call me, ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store ”

I thought the song Sixteen Tons sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford was kind of fun, catchy, and silly until I got my first job in 1970 as a cafeteria worker which paid $1.65 an hour. My free time, which was so valuable to me, wasn’t worth that much to my employer. But I needed the money, so I worked at slave-like wages.

Fifty six years later, the federal minimum wage and the Pennsylvania minimum wage isn’t much higher. This poverty wage has stagnated at $7.25 since 2009. Yep, you load 16 tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. It’s not so funny for millions of Americans who work tough jobs and still have a hard time finding a decent affordable place to live, finding money to put food on the table for themselves and their kids, and trying to afford healthcare and medicine. Sometimes tough choices have to be made whether to pay the rent, buy food, or see a doctor. Well, there is always the option to get deeper in debt with over 20% interest rates on credit cards.

Labor Day was born in the late 19th century when the exploitation of workers was even worse as workers often faced long hours, unsafe working conditions and low wages plus the cruelty of child labor. Unions arose to fight this injustice often resulting in violent deadly clashes in the streets with corporate backed government armed officers hired to enforce the status quo. But due to the bravery, perseverance and collective power of united workers, significant changes occurred. The power of the unions and the People prevailed as significant gains were made by the working class. President Grover Cleveland was even pressured by unions to create the Labor Day holiday in 1894.

In 1954, the year I was born, union membership peaked at 35% of the workforce. Now, after years of Republican Party attacks on unions often with their baseless pernicious smears of socialism and communism, union membership has dwindled to a mere 10%. We can thank President Reagan for accelerating anti-union sentiment when he fired 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who were pleading for a pay raise and shorter work weeks due to the stress of their job duties. Subsequently, the Republican agenda sought to marry the power of government and corporate interests to strip the working class of the right to better working conditions and pay by reducing the power and force of organized labor.

That is why I am mystified why some unions still endorse Republican candidates for mere short-term minor benefits. They fail to see that supporting the strength of GOP political power will only lead to continued erosion of their union power. And where does the working class find itself now in the current administration? Workers face an economy that reflects Tennessee Ernie Ford’s song while the rich billionaire class gets richer and richer. Costs are rising for gas, food, housing, medicine, health insurance, and childcare. The minimum wage is still stuck at $7.25 and there is growing pressure to cut social security even when, due to lack of union strength, most companies have eliminated pensions for retiring workers. Medicaid and other healthcare cuts are looming, cleverly designed to take place in January after the November election. Income inequality continues to grow.

During the first few months of the COVID pandemic, the intrinsic value of the worker was finally understood and celebrated. Essential workers, risking their lives to provide vital services, were honored and thanked profusely. I remember thanking the man who drove a garbage truck for his willingness to continue to do his essential work during these trying times.

Yes, workers deserve a Labor Day of rest and relaxation with their families and friends. But they deserve so much more. They deserve a society that values them and their time with a structure that provides a living wage where the basics of a good life are provided to all. We have seen what this oligarchic Republican administration is doing to create that world for workers: absolutely nothing! Vote for Democrats in November who will be willing and eager to provide another FDR-like New Deal for the workers of America who dedicate their lives to the hard work that can, will and should help build our nation into a vibrant productive and beautiful community for all of us.

Workers of America, we honor you! Happy Labor Day!