Summary
Workers’ Rights are Human Rights. Labour rights are important for our wellbeing. We must stand up for ourselves and for each other, in the workplace and beyond. We must fight for the human rights of everyone on USA soil. Be inspired this Labor Day Weekend. Work to live; don’t live to work.
Labour (Labor) Rights and Wellbeing
I believe that labour rights are intrinsically linked to wellbeing. The wellbeing of the community is linked to the wellbeing of each individual member of that community. An individual’s wellbeing is linked to his identity and welfare as a worker. Let’s explore the intersection of labour (labor) rights and wellbeing.
Labour Rights Defined
Labour rights are simply human rights in a workplace setting.
Workers have the right to free association. Workers have the right to be remunerated (paid) equally for the same work, regardless of gender, age, nationality, country of origin, religion, skin colour, primary language, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristic. Workers have the right to be paid, period. Workers have the right to be employed in safe work settings. Workers have the right to be provided with the necessary personal protective equipment to perform their jobs safely. Workers have the right to free speech, even if leadership of the company disagrees. Workers have the right to humane working conditions which include access to breaks in order to be able to eat, use the bathroom, and have a moment of rest during a shift. Children have the right not to be exploited: children are not be used as if they were adult workers.
Many of these conditions seem obvious. One that may not is the right to be paid. Indentured servitude is an example of being deprived of the right to be paid. People who are indentured servants have to pay their way out of servitude. In the early twentieth century, in North America, some people were commonly found as indentured servants: people from the countryside, minors, who were “discovered” by rich people from the cities, were brought to cities as indentured servants.
Indentured servitude still exists in our world, including in the United States of America. We have to look no further than the domain of domestic servants. There have been other situations in which people have been forced to work, have been trafficked, and these have happened in modern day USA. Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking of young girls and women is a fine example of this exploitation of human beings.
History of the Labour Movement
Despite the fact that we still have abuses of workers, there had been a significant improvement in working conditions in the Western World with the birth of the labour movement. And, people of colour in the USA did not benefit from the progress made early on by the modern day labour movement. Civil rights and workers’ rights have been intertwined for a long time in the union movement. Immigrant rights and women’s rights have been central to the growth of the labour movement in the USA because women and immigrants have spoken out from early on.
The NYS affiliate of the AFL-CIO delineates a timeline of key moments in the labour rights movement in the USA. Please take a moment to consult their website: https://nysaflcio.org/history-union-movement
One piece of legislation to protect workers’ rights in the workplace was passed by Congress in 1970: Occupational Safety and Health Act. The rationale for OSHA is self-explanatory.
Another cornerstone piece of legislation to protect workers was the 1964 Civil Rights’ Act passed by Congress. The rounding up workers of colour, workers who speak with an accent, or workers whose primary language is not English, rounding up people based on their country of origin or nationality, all of these actions currently committed by ICE are in direct violation of the Civil Rights’ Act of 1964. All of these actions affect the wellbeing of the individual being targeted. the wellbeing of their families, the wellbeing of their community and neighbourhood and state, and the wellbeing of the entire USA.
Wellbeing and Labour (Labor) Rights Intertwined
There is no question in my mind that labour rights are essential for individuals and communities to enjoy wellbeing. If a worker is employed in a workplace that is either unsafe or that refuses to adopt safe worksite practices, the wellbeing of the individual worker is at risk. So is the wellbeing of those who care for that worker or who are dependents of that worker. You cannot separate the two.
I refer you to my previous posts in which I discuss the neuroscience of hate. Social belonging is a relevant variable. When people feel they belong, they are more inclined to ally with a community rather than attack a community. This social capital can be built. We have to reach out to each other and develop the sense of belonging. Then we can ally with each other to build healthy communities.
And, we can ally with each other against abuses, even by powerful parties. Under duress, we can band together and develop compassion to overcome any disaster. Human beings have demonstrated this ability (Zaki, 2020). Let’s prove we can do this now, in the USA. We have formidable foes to defeat, together.
The Decimation of Workers’ Rights in the USA Now
In the USA, we now have a President and a cabinet of buffoons bent on destroying workplace safety and workers’ rights. The court ruling that the National Labor Review Board is unconstitutional demonstrates the failure of the judiciary to protect US: https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/musk-wins-workers-lose-as-court-rules-nlrb-is-unconstitutional/ Remember, the case was initiated by Elon Musk against whom there had been many court cases for unlawful workplace practices at his companies. Yes, the same Elon Musk who gave 270 million dollars to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign. The same Elon Musk who has benefited from billion of dollars from the USA government for his companies: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/29/musks-companies-got-billions-from-the-government-now-hes-pulling-up-the-ladder-behind-him
None of the above is good for the USA. None of the above is good for individual workers and their families. All of the above is deleterious to the wellbeing of the USA.
Because wellbeing and labour rights are intertwined, we must connect with each other to defend our wellbeing against the actions of those who are attacking our rights as workers.
Call to Action: Labour (Labor) Rights and Wellbeing
I have one request for all of US this Labor Day Weekend: WORK TO LIVE.
DON’T LIVE TO WORK.
Take a few moments: pause, think, embrace each other, love your neighbours, and rejuvenate your love of life.
We are in the fight of a lifetime to preserve workers’ rights and human rights in the USA. Our wellbeing depends on our efforts, together, to stop wealth and greed from collapsing our society. Remember, 1% of the population in the USA owns 1/3 of the wealth in the USA. It is the billionaires on the top who stood behind President Trump at the Inauguration on January 20, 2025, and who have bought the Presidency for themselves. They are profiting from the OBBBA. They have secured corporate benefits and tax cuts in the OBBBA. All the while, workers’ rights, including collective bargaining rights, are being attacked by the Trump administration.
The decline of the American Empire.
Oh, how sad I am that Denys Arcand was prescient those many years ago. Our self-indulgence and selfishness have fostered the collapse of our country. A genius filmmaker. I wish he had been wrong.
Let’s take back our country for our collective wellbeing.
Be kind. Be hopeful. Be generous. Be strong. Be resilient. Be expectant that our country and its cowardly leaders will recover from this nightmare.
Music, of course, to inspire:
‘Bella Ciao’ performed by the Esteriore Brothers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1dkZrpZgjY
Disclaimer: This post is not meant to substitute for a consultation with your mental health care professional team.
If you are thinking of hurting yourself or of hurting someone else, please CALL 9-1-1; CALL 9-8-8; or GO TO the nearest emergency room.
Selected References:
AFL-CIO (2025). The History of the Union Movement. NYS AFL-CIO. Accessed online on August 31, 2025, at https://nysaflcio.org/history-union-movement
Ford Foundation. (August 23, 2024). Meet the Domestic Workers and Labor Leaders Fighting for a Just Care Economy. Ford Foundation. Accessed online on August 31, 2025, at https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/meet-the-domestic-workers-and-labor-leaders-fighting-for-a-just-care-economy/
Gruenberg, M. (August 21, 2025). Musk wins, workers lose as court rules NLRB is unconstitutional. Peoples World. Accessed online on August 31, 2025, at https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/musk-wins-workers-lose-as-court-rules-nlrb-is-unconstitutional/
Lopez, E., Rafei, L. (March 15, 2021). Behind Closed Doors: The Trauma of Domestic Work in the US. ACLU News & Commentary. Accessed online on August 31, 2025, at https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/behind-closed-doors-the-traumas-of-domestic-work-in-the-u-s
Marquis, C. (April 29, 2025). Musk’s companies got billions from the government. Now he’s pulling up the ladder behind him. The Guardian. Accessed online on August 31, 2025, at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/29/musks-companies-got-billions-from-the-government-now-hes-pulling-up-the-ladder-behind-him
Ingram, J., Reilly, S. (December 6, 2024). Elon Musk spends $277 million to back Trump and Republican candidates. CBS News. Accessed online on August 31, 2025, at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-musk-277-million-trump-republican-candidates-donations/
Rao, P. (March 4, 2025). A Visual Breakdown of Who Owns America’s Wealth. Visual Capitalist. Accessed online on August 31, 2025, at https://www.visualcapitalist.com/a-visual-breakdown-of-who-owns-americas-wealth/
UN Innovation Network. June 15, 2023. The Neuroscience of Peace and Conflict. Accessed online on March 9, 2025, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxJPHLbipNM
Wikipedia (July 29, 2025). List of lawsuits involving Tesla, Inc, Wikipedia. Accessed online on August 31, 2025. at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lawsuits_involving_Tesla,_Inc.
Zaki, J. (May 14, 2020). Catastrophe Compassion: Understanding and Extending Prosociality Under Crisis. Trends Cogn. Sci, 24(8): 587-589. Accessed online on November 17, 2024, at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7221394/#:~:text=Extending%20Catastrophe%20Compassion&text=Floods%2C%20bombings%2C%20and%20earthquakes%20are,boundaries%20that%20typically%20separate%20people.
Nota Bene:
USA Government websites are being purged by the current Trump Administration to align the website content with the regime’s political agenda. Please note that any government website cited in this and other posts on this website may no longer contain evidence based or historically correct information. Thus, I am trying to avoid including any references or resources which derive from a USA government website. This is not bias; I take this action in an effort to maintain a factually sound content in my posts.
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