Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African-American Labor Official in history, is the Secretary-Treasurer of the National AFL-CIO, the Nation’s largest Labor Federation representing 63 Unions and nearly 15 million Workers. He recently penned a Labor Perspective that was published on BlackPressUSA that read, in part:

Throughout our history, the Labor Movement has marched, fought and stood together to win every bit of progress: To end child labor and make dangerous jobs safer.

For fair wages, affordable health care, time off to spend with family.

For dignity and respect, no matter where you come from or the color of your skin. 

When we demanded an eight-hour workday - they called it unrealistic.

When we said we deserve health and safety measures because our jobs shouldn’t kill us, they said the bosses would never give in.

When we insisted Workers deserve a minimum wage, they scoffed at us.

But our collective power made it happen. 

Black Trade Unionists have played a critical role in - and often were the backbone of - all those victories. 

But in the Labor Movement, we know our work is never done.

Trump claims to put America’s Workers first, but he’s killing our jobs, firing hundreds of thousands of Federal Workers, reversing progress on American manufacturing, and relentlessly attacking Immigrant Workers and their families.

He’s going after our Unions and the rights of Working People, moving to eliminate collective bargaining from nearly one million Federal Workers with the stroke of a pen – including significant numbers of Black Workers, doing the essential work that our communities count on. 

Trump even rang in Labor Day by stripping even more Federal Workers of their Union Rights.

And then he spent the long Labor Day Holiday weekend golfing, while the people who work for a living and actually make this country run - Food and Service Workers, Nurses and Sanitation Workers, and others - continued to show up to work without a day off.

This fight is about more than just Unions.

When they strip away these rights, they’re not just targeting Government Employees - they’re attacking the very foundation of our communities.

To Read This Labor Perspective In Its Entirety, Go To: Celebrating the Power of Black Union Organizers – BlackPressUSA