Hispanics and Latinos have always been part of America’s story, and their leadership in important labor movements has helped ensure that workers of all backgrounds can demand better wages and workplace protections. I’m here. As Democrats continue to fight for these principles, this Hispanic Heritage Month we highlight some of the many Latinx leaders and movements that have helped build worker power and shape our economy.
Latinos played an important role in the labor movement throughout the 20th century
In the 1930s, Guatemalan-American activist Luisa Moreno founded the Congress of the Spanish-Speaking People, a workers’ rights organization that organized factory workers across states and industries and worked to advance the status of Latino workers. I was one of them. In the 1960s, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) to fight for higher wages and protection for farm workers from harmful working conditions. Huerta has been a lifelong labor rights leader and continues to work for social justice as founder and director of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Chavez, who died in 1993, fought for farmworkers until his death, leaving a legacy of leadership through the UFW and the National Farmworker Service Center (now known as the Cesar Chavez Foundation). Linda Chavez Thompson served as the first executive vice president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in the 1990s and early 2000s, after years of involvement in promoting worker rights. Chavez Thompson is also the first person of color to serve in one of the AFL-CIO’s three highest positions.
Latinos continue to make history today through their leadership and union involvement.
UFW’s current director, Teresa Romero, led workers in California to secure important state legislation protecting farmworkers’ right to organize. Camille Rivera-Westin, former national and legislative political director for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, is committed to providing good wages and stable working hours for workers such as retail store employees, airport catering employees and car wash employees. He led multiple initiatives focused on ensuring that Data shows that Latina and Black women contributed to union membership growth in 2023.
Trade unions help fight economic inequality and strengthen the middle class
Trade unions can strengthen the middle class by increasing their wages, ensuring stable working hours, and improving other working conditions that lead to improved worker health and job performance. create. Among other approaches, unions are working to reduce income inequality by advocating for giving employees a higher share of company profits in exchange for increasing CEO pay. One report found that states with the highest rates of union membership have higher state minimum wages and workers earn a median annual income of $6,000 more than the national average. According to an analysis by the JEC Democratic Party, the typical full-time unionized Latina worker earns about $55,000 a year, compared to an annual salary of about $55,000 for non-union workers. His annual income was found to be $43,644. Including part-time workers increases this income gap to $15,000.
More can be done to support workers’ rights, welfare and ability to join trade unions
Just before the pandemic, 2.5 million Latinx workers were unionized, but more than 23 million Latinx workers were not unionized, according to the UCLA report. Since the 1950s, union membership has declined, coinciding with widening income inequality. Even as the economy grows, the incomes of many middle-class families have not increased with it. Changes in federal and state laws have made it difficult for workers to organize. Research shows that these changes have reduced both unionization rates and overall wages.
New laws and regulations can support unions in improving wages, training and working conditions
Chairman Martin Heinrich’s Pre-Helmet Apprenticeship (PATH) Act would give unions and other organizations additional funding to train workers. Sen. Padilla and Rep. Grijalva’s Farmworker Fairness Act would codify overtime pay for farmworkers and ensure all Americans have access to good-paying jobs and strong worker protections. It will be based on the efforts of organized groups. Important legislation like the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would strengthen workers’ ability to organize without fear of punishment or risk of losing their jobs.
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