Labor Day 2025: Why the Fight for Workers’ Rights Is Also a Fight for Democracy

Labor Day is a time to celebrate American workers’ progress and relax with loved ones. This year, the holiday goes beyond picnics and parades. American labor rights are assaulted again, jeopardizing democracy.

Our nation relies on workers in construction, healthcare, government, retail, education, and more. They keep hospitals, schools, towns, and stores running. Despite their importance, corporate policies are diminishing their workplace safety, security, and dignity.

Unions have defended American labor. Organized labor has sacrificed for almost every worker rights advancement, from the eight-hour workday to workplace safety rules that prevent accidents. These hard-won achievements are now threatened. Union officials and advocates worry that the federal government’s intentions to eliminate dozens of safety and health regulations will hinder workers’ organization and protection.

Union support is at a 30-year high, but this reluctance persists. According to studies, 70% of Americans see unions favorably, showing that workers value collective bargaining for fair wages, workplace safety, and economic stability. Yet legislative and regulatory attacks on labor rules suggest powerful forces favor businesses and billionaires over working families and oppose this public attitude.

This fight goes beyond employment. Labor rights loss impacts healthcare, education, and retirement in America. Labor’s decline weakens democracy. Late AFL-CIO president John Sweeney warned that “if labor has no role, democracy has no future.”

The New Jersey governor race is weeks away, so urgency is high. The verdict will influence state policy and workers’ rights protection against escalating threats. Union leaders and advocates are working harder than ever to protect their members’ voting rights.

Labor never gave anything away, history reveals. Every victory—from child labor laws to minimum wage protections—was gained by organizing, protesting, and uniting against powerful opponents. Any injury to one worker hurts all, and today’s labor movement continues that tradition.

This event is more than a party, as Labor Day 2025 shows. It calls for protecting today’s rights and freedoms to preserve worker dignity and democracy.

Sources

The New York Times
U.S. Department of Labor
Gallup Poll Reports
AFL-CIO