Celebrating International Workers’ Day with As You Sow
You’ve probably heard somebody say, “If you like weekends, thank the labor movement." Same goes for the eight-hour workday, minimum wages, breaks, child labor laws, workplace safety, and breaks during work.
We have gained so much collectively from the hard-won battles of organized workers. Today is International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, and As You Sow invites you to join us in celebrating working people and their achievements.
Not one of the companies we engage could succeed without the labor of their workers. From cashiers to software engineers, wage workers are the backbone of our economy. Workers have propelled these companies to fantastic financial success.
But these wins didn’t come easy. Many employers still show open hostility to the efforts of organized workers to make their workplaces safer and more just. The result is an unequal economy, with dizzying wealth and privilege for some, while many workers struggle to make ends meet.
At As You Sow, many of the issues we work on are labor issues.
Collective bargaining noninterference - We've filed resolutions at SkyWest and Delta asking companies to promise to respect workplace organizing.
Sexual and reproductive health - We're asking companies like Coca-Cola how the attacks on accessible healthcare in some states are impacting their workers, because healthcare access is a labor issue.
Social justice - We're scoring thousands of companies on Workplace Diversity and Racial Justice to ensure that statements of support for racial justice are translated into concrete actions that truly promote equity in the workplace.
Political spending - We've filed resolutions asking companies to report on their political spending, much of which is used to lobby for weaker labor rights.
Invest Your Values - We're fighting for the right of employees to have workplace retirement plans that truly guarantee their security in old age by addressing climate risk and weapon investments.
Environmental Health – We’re working with food producers like Kellanova (formally Kellogg) calling out how pesticides poison tens of thousands of agricultural workers each year, in addition to harming customers who want healthy food.
And let’s not forget, as we prepare to enter the hottest summer of our lives (so far): climate change is a major labor issue. As temperatures rise, workers are organizing to ensure that heat standards for outdoor and indoor workers prevent people from dying of heatstroke on the job. And climate activists are championing a Just Transition - oil and gas workers shouldn’t be tossed aside by our shift to clean energy.
As You Sow does its work together. Our efforts at promoting a safe, just, and sustainable world for all succeed because of staff putting in the work. Our operations staff keeps our tools running smoothly; our communication staff shouts our work to the world; our development staff finds us funding to grow; our program staff engage companies and publishes world-changing research. Our successes belong to all of us.
International and intersectional solidarity
May Day is INTERNATIONAL Workers' Day, where we celebrate not just American workers, but workers around the globe.
This means recognizing the impact of climate change on workers in the global south and expressing solidarity with them. It means understanding the injustices produced when companies adopt global supply chains that seek out jurisdictions with lower labor costs and weaker labor protections to maximize their profits. It means confronting the local environmental and social impacts of extractive business models - for example, the destruction and suffering stemming from oil and gas drilling in places like Nigeria and Ecuador.
May Day is also a day to remember that workers come from all walks of life, and labor solidarity is intersectional. Maybe the most famous image of an American worker is Rosie the Riveter - a symbol not just of the strength of our working class, but a symbol of women’s liberation. Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta's work to protect farm workers lives on today in efforts to protect migrant workers from racist crackdowns and deportation. When a trans spokesperson is fired by a beer company because of bigotry, that’s a labor issue. During the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the '60s, the labor movement was a critical ally, supporting marches and legislation both rhetorically and materially. And more recently, many labor unions made strong statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and supporting attempts to address systemic in U.S. policing.
Labor is a big tent. Today is also about recognizing the workers who are outside the workplace: the caregivers and homemakers who engage in the social reproduction of labor critical to keeping our economies growing. It's also about remembering those who don't or can't work: children, students, persons with disabilities, the aged, the infirm. We work to support our communities and everyone in them.
Workers are Shareholders
Some might think As You Sow’s work representing investors conflicts with protecting workers. After all, don't investors gain when companies keep their labor costs down?
This misses several factors: first, our stakeholder model asks companies to recognize that without safe and well-compensated workers, their businesses will always be held back.
Second, working people are shareholders through their retirement plans and as individual investors. In this way, we are working directly on their behalf. Labor unions and employee pensions have been leaders in filing shareholder resolutions and engaging companies on environmental and social issues. When the United Steelworkers of America file a proposal at Exxon Mobil asking for a climate-related just transition plan, that goes hand-in-hand with As You Sow’s proposal asking Exxon to report on divestitures of assets with material climate impact.
When companies adopt stronger policies on corporate social responsibility, that can only help workers – not just the workers at that company, but workers around the world.
If you are a worker, take a moment to celebrate yourself and your fellow workers, and to remember what we can achieve when we work together.