BUILDING BRIDGES LABOR DAY SPECIAL

Monday, September 1, 2014   6:00 PM - 11:00 PM

While the economy shows some signs of life, workers aren’t fairing well, and those looking for work are finding that their search is harder and is taking too darn long.  And, finding a job where you can earn a decent living is proving elusive for more and more people.  And there’s some more bad news, union representation that helps workers to collectively advance their interests against the bosses is at an all time low. Yes, that’s some of the bad news.  Oh, but  there’s good news and whole groups of workers aren’t just sitting back and taking the hits.
 
Indeed some of the lowest wage workers and immigrant workers in some of the fastest growing sectors, like food production and service and in the retail sector are on the move.  They’re banning together in new forms of organization, oftentimes in conjunction with community members and supporters pushing for higher wages, better benefits and protections on the job.  They’re pushing for the passage of favorable laws and urging government aggressively enforce protections already on the books and issue strict penalties against violators.  And there are worker cooperatives building and proliferating around the country and even behind the walls the forced workers are forming unions and even striking.  And, lets not forget the incredible victory workers in Seattle won of a  minimum wage of $15 an hour for the rest of us to follow.  Yes, workers are resisting what has become the greatest wealth disparity in this country in almost a century.  And more and more groups of workers are immersing themselves in the issues that abound within their communities, such as is the Moral Mondays movement reverberating across the South together tackling environmental issues.    
 
Struggles to save our Postal service and the jobs are raising progressive solutions such as “postal banking”. In New York we’ve won victories for low wage airport and McDonald’s workers, car wash workers have unionized and there is a new sick leave law.  
 
So, all in all this Labor Day workers faced a mixed bag and the question is what is to be done, and that’s exactly what Building Bridges will be exploring.  We’re preparing actualities from rallies and protests.  National and local leaders of worker movements, activists and scholars will come together for our virtual Labor Day rally, with some serious moving and shaking going on.  And as if that wasn’t enough threaded throughout the evening are some of the great spoken word artists, dramatists and musicians who’ll evoke our passion and stimulate our senses.  So you’ve got to tune into our virtual rally and celebration of the working class - Build Bridges this Labor Day.