Union, What a powerful universally applicable concept! The combination of two or more to create a singularly stronger outcome. Unions are the bedrock of families; unions are the foundations of governments. Why then invest in a day to celebrate Labor? Because all of everything is dependent on the single most valuable commodity for sustainability and growth, Human Capital. Somehow “union” has come to be interpreted as adversarial and counter to the best interests of employers, when in fact everyone has a stake in our combined efforts to promote our economy. Most employers are members of a related trade association or chamber of commerce (unions) that collectively advocate for them. Yet, they engage in activities and support governance efforts to dilute and minimize the same rights for worker members of labor unions. This is a double standard at best and one that detracts from our national best interests. Afterall, we are The United States of America, sharing a continent with Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos. There is no other continent on earth with two countries formed by unions. Even the Russian Empire came to adopt the concept of union in reconfiguring itself as the Soviet Union.
Unions continue to thrive because they practice and adhere to the most basic premise of governance, voting. They campaign for and elect their leadership, not unlike we do at every level of government, local, state and federal. Throughout the fabric of our society is the common thread of Democracy, Voting. Voting allows us to participate in self-determination by adding our voice to ensure electoral outcomes that are in the best interest and greater good of the most people. Unfortunately, most of the people don’t vote, leaving our fortunes in the hands of the few that do. This is why it is imperative that every person eligible to vote in our community, do so. There are 25% more eligible, unregistered to vote, Hispanics than just four years ago. Odds are you know at least one of them. Please encourage them to register and more importantly, to follow through, and vote. Be an example and proudly show them your voter registration.
The prospective strength of our numbers, 63 million – 19% of the population poses a significant threat to groups that have previously underestimated our willingness to get involved in the process. A recent survey released by Outlier Media (https://outliermedia.org/detroit-voter-turnout-2024-elections-priorities-survey/) cited that our community was the least interested in participating in the electoral process. It is within our ability to counter that finding by making certain that everyone we know is registered to vote in the next 30 days and then votes in the following 30 days.
The most recent demonstration of conservative apprehension took place in San Antonio two weeks ago, just one week after LULAC endorsed VP Harris, when Texas AG Paxton conducted raids on the homes of LULAC members mostly seniors and some octogenarians, all election workers in what has been deemed an election fraud investigation. What is clear to us is that this was a targeted exercise in voter intimidation and suppression on the oldest and largest Hispanic Civil Rights organization (union) in the country. It was not coincidental that this happened right after LULAC’s endorsement. What this means for us here in Michigan is that conservatives will view what happened in Texas as encouragement and permission to engage in similar related activities here and elsewhere, especially critical swing states, to intimidate Hispanic voters to keep us from the polls. We cannot and will not allow this to happen!
Know that LULAC stands ready to defend any community’s voting rights from being violated. LULAC provided the resources to establish MALDEF (the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) and we maintain close ties working in concert to uphold class action defenses for Mexican Americans. For more information, visit www.lulac.org.
