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Monday is Labor Day! Much more than a symbolic end of summer or a day for outdoor barbecues, the roots of Labor Day are in protest, largely for shorter working hours. Still today, the labor movement is alive and well: pushing for AI regulations, higher wages, and even a four-day work week.

Today’s Goodnewsletter is ​​filled with good labor news: Unions celebrating the holiday by honoring its history, workers earning fairer treatment, and more. Enjoy!

Heads up: There will be no Goodnewsletter in your inbox on Monday as our team commemorates the holiday. We’ll be back in your inbox with a roundup of good news on Tuesday, September 2!

People doing good

Florida labor unions are celebrating Labor Day by collecting donations to support families experiencing homelessness

Representing various labor unions in Florida’s “Big Bend” region, which includes Tallahassee, the Big Bend Central Labor Council is hosting a fundraiser on Labor Day to help families experiencing homelessness in the community.

In partnership with a local nonprofit that supports youth and families in crisis, the council will be collecting hygiene products, nonperishable food, water, new clothes, toys, monetary donations, and more.

The fundraiser will be preceded by a protest at the Florida State Capitol building against political corruption and advocating for working people.

Why is this good news? There may, perhaps, be no better way to commemorate the significance of Labor Day than by helping your neighbors and protesting on behalf of working people — it’s what the organizers of the very first Labor Day did, bringing different types of workers together to advocate for their common interests.

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More Good News

​Cities like Houston are joining a nationwide movement of protests on Labor Day to fight a “billionaire takeover” of the U.S. government. There are now more than 500 “Workers Over Billionaires” events planned across all 50 states as part of a national day of action to “demand a country that puts workers over billionaires.”

​About 450 immigrant workers hired to clean the NYC subway during the height of the pandemic won over $3 million in back pay. Working in already dangerous conditions, the cleaners often received substandard cleaning equipment, worked with harsh chemicals that would cause skin irritation, were given regular masks instead of respirators, and more.

​Thousands of workers in California ratified a new, three-year contract with a local supermarket chain. The new contract for workers at 172 Stater Bros. stores secures higher wages, pension contributions, healthcare improvements, staffing and safety practices.

​Union workers secured a breakthrough contract that will deliver cleaner air and better working conditions. The first-ever contract includes at least a 12% raise for every Blue Bird worker — the lowest paid workers will see a raise of 40% — and perhaps most notably, a trigger in which net company profits of over $30 million entitle workers to a 4% share of those profits.

​The country’s first women-led workers’ hub is helping immigrants know their rights and fight for better working conditions. About 50 women make up the quickly-growing Liberty Cleaners, a group under the New York City-based Worker’s Justice Project that started in 2018 with just a few women.

Arts & culture

Aiming to bring transparency to the industry, an innovative clothing line makes ‘human labor visible’ on every garment

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✏️ 3 days left! Get the new Goodnewspaper: The Education Edition for free!

Speaking of hard workers … have you seen teachers lately? The all-new Education Edition of the Goodnewspaper is filled with them: teachers fighting for the future of education, making every student feel welcome, inspiring kindness that lasts long after graduation, and more.

Their stories are exclusive to Goodnewspaper subscribers — but there’s still time to subscribe and get a copy for free!

It’s easy: Provide your address and $1 to cover shipping by Sunday, August 31, and we’ll drop your free copy in the mail on Tuesday. No obligation, cancel anytime — free issues available while supplies last!

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good Data

A new study found that stronger labor rights could help reduce economic inequality

According to a new study, when workers gain collective labor rights — like the right to form and join a union, bargain for higher pay and better benefits, and more — it benefits society as a whole by reducing economic inequality.

Researchers looked at human rights data to score countries on their collective labor rights on a scale from zero to four. They found that even a one-point increase in collective labor rights reduces vertical inequality by 10 times the average change in inequality.

In the U.S., a one-point increase in collective labor rights would be about enough to undo the increase in inequality that occurred between 2008 and 2010 due to the Great Recession and its aftermath. It would also likely help stem the growing wealth gap between Black and white Americans, the result of income disparities compounding over time.

Some context: The gap between rich and poor Americans is increasing. The wealthiest 1% of Americans have more than five times as much wealth as the bottom 50%, up from four times as much in the year 2000. In 2024 alone, the wealthiest 19 families got a total of $1 trillion richer — the largest one-year increase on record. Meanwhile, 59% of Americans don’t have enough money saved up to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense.

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