#BlackLaborDay2021

We are Black workers!

Black - I once heard that Black is a legal term for “can be discriminated against.” I always say that if you are talking about Black people, it’s likely a labor conversation because in a U.S. historical and political context Black is oftentimes synonymous with labor.

Workers - Sometimes I struggle with understanding why Black folks who have to work for salaries or wages distance themselves from the term worker. No matter the degrees or titles, if asked, “what are you doing on Monday,” the typical reply is “I gotta work.” So if we are always gearing up to go to work, complaining to friends or therapists (if affordable) about our treatment at work, looking forward to a vacation from work, or looking for better work --aren’t we in fact workers? 

I think about this because there are so many harms, some structural and some cultural, that happen to Black people in the workplace (wherever that is these days), and too often we don’t know where to go for remedies or the remedies available are inadequate, not affordable, or lengthy processes. The truth is having feelings of being trapped and helpless doesn’t just happen, there is a system designed to make us feel this way. 

The Black jobs crisis is real and it is not simply a bi-product of the COVID crisis. According to Algernon Austin, Senior Fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, “Black men have had the highest annual unemployment rate consistently for the last 20 years…. If prime-age Black men had the same employment rate as other men, Black families and communities would gain an additional $30 billion each year in income.” This does not speak specifically to the wages earned; it is simply the floor--having a job versus not having a job.

There are constant narrative streams reminding us that Black women are single heads of households as if it is inherently a bad thing. But if we actually developed economic policy and labor protections based on this truth, it would make more economic sense. According to a 2020 Economic Policy Institute report by Valerie Wilson and Elise Gould, “the inequities black workers experience in the labor market have larger consequences for the economic vulnerability of black households because it is far more likely that when one household member loses their job, it translates into a complete loss of income for that household.”   

It is not enough to think about labor issues being situated at the workplace because the impact is felt at the household level. And for Black people, having work is not enough because too often it means temporary, contingent, low wage earning, “frontline” work with little or no benefits, job security, or protections. Concentration in extremely low pay, forced (essential) labor, with few rights or protections sounds a lot like slavery to me. In this case, all the burden and responsibility of “care” is left to Black workers, who must fend for themselves and their families.

On this #BlackLaborDay, make a renewed commitment to fight for our freedom culturally, politically, and economically. Follow the legislation that directly addresses our circumstances like the CROWN Act and the PRO Act, which were both written about recently by Black labor leaders, Tanya Wallace-Gobern (National Black Worker Center) and Erica Smiley (Jobs with Justice) in a Newsweek Op-Ed “Let’s Liberate Our Hair At Work This Labor Day”. They list the ways that employers can do more than post #BlackLivesMatter statements, but can demonstrate their commitment to racial justice by dismantling the legacy of white supremacy and shifting the balance of power so that Black workers can fight back against systemic threats like “at-will employment”. 

Black labor historian, Dr. Danielle T. Phillips-Cunningham, reminds us that Black women have always been part of labor history by amplifying the leadership and legacy of Nannie Helen Burroughs, who founded the National Association of Wage Earners and fought tirelessly for voter rights and labor rights. We should know Nannie Helen Burroughs like we know A. Phillip Randolph. Learn more in a Washington Post Op-Ed, “On Labor Day, we remember the Black women who helped win labor rights.” 

Black worker centers and Black-led coalitions across the country continue to be places where Black workers can lay their burdens down and tell their stories of #workingwhileblack; identify the cultural and structural barriers to employment in their cities; learn about the political economy that is strangling them daily; and get connected with jobs, much needed resources, and other people building power to raise the floor for all Black workers. 

Lift up the names of current Black labor leaders like Fred Redmond, 1st African American elected Secretary-Treasurer (#2 spot) at the AFL-CIO; Becky Pringle, President of the National Education Association; Lauren Jacobs, Executive Director of PowerSwitch Action (formerly the Partnership for Working Families) and so many more. Locate Black worker centers and Black-led coalitions in your cities. Donate to these organizations!

On Labor Day and everyday, please know that there are Black people fighting on every frontline (including research, policy-making, and history-making action). They are not only fighting for justice for Black workers, but for worker liberation. 

Are You a Black Worker? Join the fight!