Working Pennsylvanians need the support of legislators after Janus | Opinion

Labor Day has marked the victories of unions and America's working people for the last 136 years.  It's a day of remembrance for the fight for workers' rights, the very concept of the eight-hour workday, the weekend, the elimination of child labor in favor of universal education, and the injustice of unsafe, often lethal working conditions.

It is time for us to return to the same principles of economic justice and working-class solidarity that delivered those victories. Our history shows that when workers come together in a union and exercise their collective voice on the job, we transform the economy and the daily lives of all our brothers and sisters who work.  ­

America's working people and their unions have faced many challenges over the last few years, but with adversity comes opportunity.  Today, corporations and moneyed special interests try to pit us against each other as they rig the economy to work for the wealthy few at the expense of the working class.  In the last year, we have seen incredible grassroots action in response to threats to our freedoms and our rights. Hundreds of thousands of newly organized union members are reclaiming their power in the workplace, and three-quarters of them are younger than 35.

This summer, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, delivering a politically motivated verdict that affects millions of workers across America and hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. Their decision overturned more than 40 years of established labor law.  Many were ready to spell the end for the labor movement, for fair workplaces and for workers' rights.

From the teachers striking and winning in West Virginia, to the brothers and sisters in Missouri who repealed "right to work" legislation at the ballot box for the first time in history, to right here in Pennsylvania, when we proved this spring that our economic values are more unifying and energizing than the divisive rhetoric of politicians, we are proving them wrong.  We are still fighting; we are marching, striking and organizing.

Right now, our country is divided along many lines, emotions are raw, and many of us feel like we are not being heard.  This is a pivotal moment, not just for the labor movement, the civil rights and equal rights movements; it is a moment to refocus on the issues that bring us together in solidarity.

And this moment could not be more significant in its magnitude.  We are at a point in history where we are seeing yet another opportunity to create change in the workplace through organizing in a union, by standing up against sexual harassment and gender discrimination, or ending the prejudice that exists based on race and sexual orientation or protesting the consistent failure to care for workers' safety and rights.

Labor unions and members have been fighting for legislation to protect workers for years; bills like public sector worker safety, the protection of workers' compensation and unemployment insurance, and addressing discrimination in the workplace. Yet our state legislature is often unable to act on behalf of the working men and women of this commonwealth.  These are not partisan issues; this is about your right to security and safety on the job, and to come home at the end of the day.

We need courageous Pennsylvanians to stand up and pass the Jake Schwab Worker Safety Bill, the Pennsylvania Workplace Freedom Act, and the sexual harassment bills sitting in Harrisburg waiting to protect our sisters and brothers from abuse.

Only when we come together and demand that each of us is treated with respect on the job, in our communities and in our government, will we become the change we seek.

Rick Bloomingdale is president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.