September 18, 2026 — September marks the end of summer, the start of fall, and the celebration of Labor Day—a time to honor organized labor, union benefits, and the hard-fought gains workers have won.
With the General Election approaching, we must educate ourselves on the issues that affect our lives and identify candidates who support labor—as well as those who attack unions or back policies that raise the cost of living. This November, we must remember our sacrifices and protect our hard-earned benefits.
A brief look back helps us appreciate the meaning of this holiday. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland declared Labor Day a national holiday, “a time for people of this nation to pay tribute to the American worker.”
When America was founded, most people worked as farmers, seafarers, or in related trades. As the country expanded inland, workers took on new professions and built new industries.
Mining natural resources helped build the country. As technology advanced, labor changed. Traditional work remained, but America’s drive for innovation grew. Labor organized, unions were created, and the dignity of workers became a hallmark of our nation.
Labor Day honors the backbreaking work that made America strong, independent, self-sufficient, and a provider to the world.
This Labor Day, Americans have much to be grateful for. Even amid political, social, and economic division, union membership gives us economic strength. Yet prosperity is not shared equally. Too many people have been left behind, and the family income gap continues to widen.
The top 5% of Americans now take home a larger share of personal income than they did 40 years ago, while the share going to the middle 60% has declined by nearly 10%. The drop is even sharper for the bottom 20%. This is why America needs a strong, active, democratic labor movement.
Workers—especially union members—have given much to America over the last century. Their efforts helped create the great American middle class. Yet American unions did not embrace the “class” warfare common elsewhere in the industrialized world. Instead, union leaders saw labor as part of the American democratic experience and urged members to pursue social justice for all.
Those labor values remain strong today: public policy that supports families, expands the middle class, creates decent jobs, and reduces poverty and need.
Organized labor promotes the dignity of work.
Early Labor Day parades featured ordinary workers who took pride in their work, earned fair wages, and reminded the nation to honor working people. Today, those basic values are too often forgotten.
The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us that workers are essential: doctors, nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters, grocery store workers, and dedicated public servants. Much of that work remainsundervalued. History shows why economist Paul Krugman called 1929 to 1947 the birth of the middle class—and, roughly, the modern labor movement. During that period, U.S. union membership grew from 3.6 million to 15.4 million, with further gains from 1947 to 1973.
Anti-union policies, anti-union messaging, and pro-business actions have taken their toll. The weaponization of federal agencies, along with actions by the Labor Department and bankruptcy court judges eager to dismantle bargaining agreements, has contributed to the decline. Today, union membership is down to about 12% of the nationwdie workforce.
As union participation helped build the middle class, its decline has weakened it. History shows that unorganized workers, left to giant, unregulated corporations, face an economy divided between rich and poor. Unions balance power and help build a growing middle-class economy. Policies that support unions and the middle-class keep our economy balanced, fair, and growing.
What will save ordinary Americans, caught between a government buried in corporate cash and a market system even its supporters question, is power. Power changes things. It comes in two forms: organized money and organized people. Financial elites use organized money through corporate PACs. Working people build power by organizing, mobilizing, uniting, and taking action. That is why we still need a strong union movement—and why labor organized in the first place.
Together we are stronger. When we vote together, we win. Happy Labor Day 2026.