Stick up for unions on Labor Day

This Labor Day we should remember that, while our GDP may be growing, workers’ wages are stagnant. In fact, real wages today are substantially lower now than they were in the late 1970s, when one out of three workers were unionized. The decline in union membership has meant lower wages and fewer benefits, but that doesn’t mean workers aren’t fighting back.

Our economy should work for everyone, not just the rich and powerful, and unions remain essential to helping close this income gap.

That’s why I believe we must stand strong with unions and working families as they face off against anti-worker attacks from the Trump Administration and corporate CEO’s who don’t want to pay workers their fair share.

Here in South Florida, I have walked the picket line and marched with Fort Lauderdale airport workers in their fight for a union and a living wage. After years of fighting, airport workers saw their wages go up from $8.25 an hour to almost $13, when the Broward County Commission voted in 2015 to include them in the County’s Living Wage Ordinance – legislation that I cosponsored. Many airport workers have also won representation with 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union and now have job protections and a powerful seat at the negotiating table.

But despite these victories, Fort Lauderdale airport workers are still struggling with part-time hours, unaffordable health insurance, no paid sick days and a living wage that has not kept up with the skyrocketing cost of living in Broward County.

According to a report by 32BJ SEIU, the majority of airport workers pay more than half their salary on housing and almost half earn below the federal poverty line of $25,100 for a family of four.

I recently met with Fort Lauderdale International Airport workers and heard stories that moved me deeply. Sandra Smith is a wheelchair attendant and cabin cleaner who was in a coma for a week because of a heart condition. She had to go back to work just a couple of days after getting out of the hospital because she couldn’t afford to take a day off.

Bruce Stimpson is a security officer at the Fort Lauderdale Airport who only makes $1,400 a month. He was recently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma and had to shell out $1,000 —more than half his month’s wages — for a medical procedure, because the deductible on his employerprovided health plan is so high.

If we are serious about fighting inequality, then we should start with the Fort Lauderdale Airport, one of the largest economic engines in South Florida. That’s why I’m cosponsoring legislation to raise the County Living Wage so thousands of airport and county workers have more money in their pockets to support local businesses, buy consumer goods, pay their bills comfortably, and even take a well-deserved vacation.

To be frank, this issue is about fairness. It’s about giving fair reward for one’s labor. .

The Fort Lauderdale airport generates $13 billion a year and is responsible for almost 140,000 jobs, directly and indirectly. It should be a producer of good, union jobs that pay family-sustaining wages and a shining example for other employers in Broward County.

The Trump Administration and its corporate swamp can attempt to reverse all the gains that unions have made in this country, but so long as working people stick together we can continue to win better wages, better benefits and respect on the job. Over the last several years, 20 million workers across the nation have won wage increases as a result of the Fight for $15 movement. This year, tens of thousands of teachers across the country held incredibly successful strikes, winning wage and benefit increases and a groundswell of support for more investment in public education. And since the national movement of airport workers began, nearly 120,000 people have come together and won raises and other job improvements. More than 25,000 have won a union.

Elected officials, from the local level up, must support these organizing efforts. We must use every tool in our box to ensure that working families get a shot at the middle class.