WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: Under the theme Reconnecting The Movement, Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation (WNYALF) President Peter DeJesus, Jr. made a conscious effort to diversify those who addressed the more than 100 Central Labor Council Presidents, Union Leaders and Representatives, and Friends of Labor who were in attendance at the recently-held Annual WNYALF Meeting.  “These are the ‘fresh faces’ of the Labor Movement,” DeJesus said before introducing those who spoke, including Grace Bogdanove (Pictured Above/WNYLaborToday.com Photo) - who serves as Western New York Nursing Home Division Vice President for 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers East.  1199 SEIU represents more than 50,000 Nursing Home Workers in Downstate New York and an additional 15,000 Nursing Home Workers in the Hudson Valley and Upstate.  Her first experience with Organized Labor came during an internship with the WNYALF, while she was an Undergraduate Student at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.  “I came to believe, in that one Summer really, that the Labor Movement ‘is the single most powerful movement in the fight for social and economic justice today,’” Bogdanove said of her WNYALF experience.  In 2021, Bogdanove - who is passionate about motivating and guiding Health Care Workers frustrated by poor working conditions to fight back and win, was recognized in City & State’s Labor 40 Under 40 list, which highlights rising stars in New York State’s Labor Movement.  Her address to the WNYALF Attendees was entitled: Labor Is A ‘Social Justice’ Movement:

Racism, xenophobia, attacks on voting rights, gender inequality, childcare, environmental racism, policy brutality, affordable housing, public transportation, health care.

A young Black Man worrying about police harassment on his drive home from work.

An Immigrant Worker unable to navigate public transportation.

A single Mother being evicted without cause while struggling to find affordable housing.

A family unable to access childcare close to home.

A Woman whose child’s school just cut the after-school program.

A community facing health consequences as a result of environmental racism.

All of these happen on a daily basis, and they happen to OUR Union Members. 

Our Members face issues on the job, at home and every moment in between.

Our Members don't stop being our Members when they leave work.

And that is why Social Justice must be a Union issue.

Social Justice Unionism recognizes that our future, the future of our movement, and the future of Working People as a whole, requires rethinking and expanding​ what we do.

We must make a concerted effort to reject almost exclusively focusing on protecting Union Members and advancing their economic interests at work, and instead to see the future of Unionized Workers tied directly to the interests of the entire Working Class and the communities, particularly Communities of Color, in which we live and work.

This is not to say we reject the work that is at our core.

The greatest power that we have to win Social Justice is through that work - our power to withhold labor. 

But we must go beyond this - we must extend solidarity and build alliances beyond the workplace in an effort to win changes that improve the lives of those in our communities. 

And remember our past.

Our Unions grew fastest when we stood for more than our Members economic concerns - When the Mine Workers fought for clean water and safe housing in the 1910s… When the Building Trades organized to create the Tennessee Valley Authority and bring power to communities in the South… When we 1199 stood with MLK against segregation in the 60s… When Farm Workers fought to expand Immigrant Rights and protect consumer safety in the 70s

This is not easy.

To do this requires that we, all of us here in this room, confront racism and practices within our own organizations and institutions that marginalize and harm Working People.

Social Justice Unionism requires solidarity with Working People - both Union and Non-Union.

I’ve observed a false narrative here in Western New York, exacerbated in the past year, that paints the Labor Movement as Conservative, and siloed - only interested in the work we do on the shop floor. 

Close-minded​ - not progressive enough.

A false narrative that frustrates me to my core, because I know that the Labor Movement is the single most powerful movement in the fight for Social and Economic Justice… yesterday​, today and tomorrow​.

But we can and we should do better.

It is not enough to simply refer Union Members to community organizations to be provide services.

We must be engaged in issues that affect our Members outside of the workplace.

We should be active participants on boards of community organizations that are dedicated to this work.

We should build coalitions and alliances between Labor, community and faith groups to advance the interests of the Working Class broadly.

Our Members want to see this.

They want to know that we are a community and a movement that understands their struggles outside of work.

And our Members are ready to engage in this work.  

Are you?​