Before dawn on Labor Day, activists rallied in Ybor City to draw attention to the plight of fast food industry workers. Credit: Kimberly DeFalco

Before dawn on Labor Day, activists rallied in Ybor City to draw attention to the plight of fast food industry workers. Credit: Kimberly DeFalco
For the majority of my adult life I've been employed in the fast food industry. I cook, clean, serve food, deal with customers, and keep the kitchen humming day in and day out. Yet, after over ten years in the industry, I still make barely above the minimum wage. I know some out there still incorrectly think that these are jobs for high school kids or lazy people with no ambition. Let me tell you: I'm 28 years old and I work side by side with parents, grandparents and the elderly. This is the new economic reality in post-recession Florida. The four million of us referred to as "the working poor" are just trying to survive. I've tried for years to find work in other industries but time and again I've found that these service jobs continue to largely be the only employers hiring. I've tried higher education but had to quit when tuition increases made it all but impossible. I'm still paying off the one student loan I took out and refuse to take out any more. 

So what are the solutions for the millions in Florida like me who work hard but still struggle to make ends meet?

For me, the solution is clear: We must stand together and organize. It's no secret that the current State Legislature has no desire to make life better for working people; Florida's five-cent minimum wage increase this year was a slap in the face to people barely scraping by. As the cost of living soars and the rigged economy continues to pound working families, the time is now to remind ourselves that it was unions that built the middle class in America.

Everyone deserves a voice on the job and to be fairly compensated for their work. Unions have historically made that happen. According to the American Sociological Association, as union density decreased in the American workforce from 1973 to 2007, wage inequality increased by more than 40 percent. The service industry is a $51 billion dollar industry in Florida yet the vast majority of us who work in it live below the poverty line. If we are to change course and get people out of poverty and ensure greater economic equality, working people must once again fight for strong unions that push back against crooked politicians and corporations that have rigged the economy for the rich. 

As a person of color, I've seen how higher wages can lift up black communities and help people escape poverty. A recent study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research finds that Black union workers earned more than 35 percent more than non-union workers and were more likely to have health insurance and retirement plans. All of this paints a clear picture for folks like me. Without unions, we will continue to work day in and day out only to remain in poverty. That's why this September 4, I'm standing up with thousands of other low wage workers nationwide to put the Labor back in Labor Day. We’re fighting to make the jobs that do exist and that make the CEOs rich into good jobs for US. Stand with us. Let's create a better economy for working people so our children won't have to endure the struggles that we do.

Bleu Rainer is a member of the National Organizing Committee for the Fight for 15. He lives in Tampa.

This article appears in Aug 31 – Sep 7, 2017.