We celebrate Labor Day every year and listen to politicians and community leaders tell us how important we are. They tell us working families are the backbone of society and front-line workers saved the day during the darkest hours of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Well, that’s all true. However, it seems like every other day and every year and decade we are fighting the same people that give us the pats on the back one day a year. That can all change and we have the power to make it happen.
On the ballot for voters next year will be the Workers’ Rights Amendment to the Illinois Constitution. If we want to stop the politicians from weakening our rights and whittling away our protections, this Constitutional Amendment will take care of it once and for all.
The facts are that for the last 40 years, union members have been targeted for destruction. Politicians and corporate lobbyists have hollowed out labor laws, and, here in Illinois, we’ve fought back many attempts at limiting our ability to negotiate. We’ve won many battles and we’ve lost a few, too.
The Workers’ Rights Amendment gives working people the protection they deserve — not protection that dissolves when the political winds shift direction.
The WRA guarantees the right of workers to bargain for safe working conditions, fair pay and benefits. It will make sure patient care is put ahead of profit and construction workers can speak out about safety issues. It will finally stop politicians from taking away workers’ freedom to join and negotiate with their employers.
Not only does it benefit working families, it will also provide an ongoing boost for the Illinois economy by assuring there will continue to be a thriving middle class keeping business prosperous.
Now is the time and we will need your help.
Join the campaign to pass the Workers’ Rights Amendment. Go to www.workersrights.com for more information and sign up to join the campaign to pass this historic amendment.
The Illinois AFL-CIO represents more than two million union members and families.
19 photos of Decatur celebrating Labor Day
55 Chevy
1986: 100% union-made
1919 Labor Day parade
1919: A Rembrandt Studios image of the 1919 Labor Day parade, in the 300 block of N. Main St., downtown Decatur.
A signed duty
1989: Tom Grimes II, member of Laborers’ Local 159, finishes decorating his union’s parade entry in the Decatur Labor Day Parade Monday.
Carpenters Local 742
1980: Members of Carpenters Local 742 march with a canine mascot.
Dewitt Celebrates
1987: An estimated 100 people turned out Monday in Dewitt for the 9 a.m. parade that kicked off Labor Day activities in that community.
Firefighters march
1979: In the parade were marching firefighters.
Fruits of labor
1981: Heavy equipment such as these Caterpillar vehicles were driven in the parade.
Heavy equipment
1978: Heavy equipment was on display at the Decatur Trades & Labor Assembly Labor Day parade through downtown Decatur.
It’s their day
1991: Members of the Electrical Workers union were among many labor unions who took time out of their holiday to march down Franklin Street in Decatur Monday morning.
Labor Day parade
1970: The winning float entry in the Labor Day parade was this on built by AIW Local 728, employees of Wagner Castings Co. Many people came to watch the colorful activity and it was described by some as the best and biggest Decatur has seen in some time.
Labor Day parade queen
1992: Labor Day parade queen Chris Oglesby, 16, tries to keep from sliding off a Cadillac, as her mother, Valerie Centola, remembers her similar experience, 20 years ago in Decatur.
Made in America
1986: Made in America
Mayor Rupp and Senator McCarthy
1968: Mayor James H. Rupp, left, and Sen. Robert McCarthy, D-Decatur, carry the parade banner.
Parade marshal
1979: Parade marshal Monkota Karnes.
Tug-of-war
1993: Gary Lamb, right, lead puller for the Solidarity Team, had to work hard Monday during the tug-of-war competition at the Allied Industrial Workers Hall in Decatur. Lamb’s team and other local unions were unsuccessful in unseating AIW Local 838, which repeated as champion in the event at the Women of “Men in Labor” Labor Day celebration. Some of the activities featured at the second annual picnic included pony rides, a kiddie tractor pull, live music, a dunk tank, three-on-three basketball, food and a raffle.
Union members march
1986: Union members marched Monday in Decatur’s annual Labor Day parade.
1941 Labor Day parade
1978: Decatur’s 1941 Labor Day parade had more than 2,000 participants from 45 labor unions and drew a crowd of several thousand spectators.
Ladies Garment Workers
1965: Ladies Garment Workers union strutted their stuff in Labor Day parade 30 years ago.
The Decatur Labor Day parade
1987: Members of Carpenters Union Local 742 were out in force for Monday’s Labor Day parade in downtown Decatur.
Tim Drea is president of Illinois AFL-CIO
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September 4, 2021 at 10:37AM
Illinois Delivered 