Op-Ed: Why the freedom to join a union is the freedom I’m celebrating this Fourth of July

A longtime advocate for North Carolina workers on why the fight for labor rights is as American as apple pie.

The Fourth of July marks the birth of our first union: the United States of America—a country where the word “freedom” has been a staple of our national identity since the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776 to declare our nation as sovereign.

In the generations since the Revolutionary War, what freedom in America means, who has access to freedom, and how freedom is preserved for future generations has evolved and changed over time.

This year, before we start our yearly traditions of backyard barbeques and cul-de-sac fireworks displays, I invite us all to ask ourselves: How do I define freedom for myself and my family? Is it defined as protection from political tyranny and oppression? Or maybe your idea of freedom is understood as the right to self-actualization and self-determination? Either way, the type of freedom I’m holding close to my heart this Fourth of July is the freedom to join a union.

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Like most liberties, the freedom for working people to organize and collectively bargain for the wages, benefits, and respect they deserve was hard-won, and it’s one that we must continually protect lest it be taken from us. 

North Carolina’s own history proves just how precious our freedom to unionize is. 

During the textile mill strikes of the 1920s, workers in Marion and Gastonia bravely asserted their freedom to unionize even when violence and the National Guard was deployed against them.

In the late 1940s, Black tobacco workers in Winston-Salem organized and used sit-down strikes to secure their labor and civil rights. 

In more recent years, the stories of the Mt. Olive pickle boycott that resulted in the largest collective bargaining agreement in state history and the game-changing organizing victories for academic workers at prestigious institutions like Duke University echo the lessons of the past and remind us that the freedom to form unions is an invaluable one.

At the end of the day, whether we’re talking about strikes and contract negotiations of the past or the present, workers have always been after the same thing: the freedom to have a voice on the job and to enjoy the fruits of our labor. 

A union contract means the freedom to negotiate for the health and safety standards we need to protect ourselves, our coworkers, and those who will come after us. It means the freedom to have a real say in your working conditions, your pay, and your benefits so you can achieve the American Dream we’re all chasing. 

And it means the freedom to negotiate on equal footing with your boss for your share of corporate profits because, after all, it’s your labor making those record-breaking revenues possible. 

Our freedom as workers is directly tied to our freedom as human beings and citizens. When workers have the power to negotiate their labor conditions, that means we have the power to shape other areas of our life, like our economy, democracy, and nation as a whole.

So many of the labor rights we enjoy today—whether you’re a union member or not—come directly from the long legacy of collective action and the work of worker-activists who have animated the labor movement in North Carolina and around the country for decades. 

So, as you fire up the grill today and light sparklers for the kids, let’s remember that our liberties as people who work for a living are a critical part of our freedoms as Americans. Let’s never forget that the mission to protect and strengthen workers’ freedom is a shared, unending responsibility across generations. 

As always, we are stronger together. Happy Fourth of July, and solidarity forever!