Bruce Ledewitz: The rage of the essential worker

The other day, I did something most of my fellow liberals have never done — I had a serious conversation with an essential worker.

He could have been a grocery clerk, a construction worker, a health care aide or innumerable other job classifications. He could have been female or male, white or Black, or any other ethnic group.

His rage against the system shocked me, though it should not have.

This essential worker knew he had been betrayed twice. First, during the pandemic, he was forced to risk his health, even his life, when others were not.

Essential workers received laudatory testimonials to their courage and dedication. But few received any extra compensation, and those who did receive some extra money quickly lost it when the pandemic ended.

In hindsight, this essential worker says he should have quit.

Then, they would have had to raise wages to get him back or hire someone else.

The second betrayal was worse.

When the time came to return to work after the pandemic, management allowed some workers to continue to work from home, either all or some of the time.

But not the essential worker.

Thus, some workers — those who stayed home and had not been called upon to take any risks — in effect received a pay increase by not having to pay for full commuting to work.

Management did not, however, subsidize the commute of the essential worker.

If you look for it, you can find the rage of the essential worker everywhere.

You can see it positively in greater union militancy and more vigorous organizing efforts.

You can see it negatively in antipathy by workers to the Democratic Party as elitist and in support for Donald Trump as someone who screws the system.

You can see it fatally in increased deaths of despair, decreased family formation and a national mood of hopelessness.

The rage of the essential worker transcends party lines. The New York Times reports that 63% of Republicans who earn less than $40,000/year say the economic system “requires major changes.”

A politics that could address the rage of the essential worker would win the next national election. Remember, only 41% of voters have college educations. And even in that group there are doubtless many essential workers.

But so far, neither major political party has shown the ability to do this.

Republicans would like to add the essential worker to their coalition and have had some success in doing so. Some Republicans, like Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, and Trump himself in 2016, like to sound populist themes and adopt a populist style.

But, beyond protectionism in trade, which harms the essential worker as much as it helps, there is no economic program that the essentially pro-wealth GOP can adopt.

But that does not mean that the essential worker will turn to the Democratic Party. You would think the Democrats would be the natural home for anyone seeking economic justice. But the party has lost interest in working people.

Even worse than that, as the hostility to Oliver Anthony’s song “Rich Men North of Richmond” shows, the left is more concerned about the prejudices of the working class than about the injustices to which it is subject.

The Democratic Party, especially in its leadership, is far more comfortable among the workers who can work from home. They are now its base.

What are the policies that might attract the essential worker? What I heard is that he does not want welfare payments or food stamps.

Universal health care would help enormously because then it would be easier to quit a job that treats him unfairly.

And a federal minimum wage that kept up with inflation would support and increase wages all along the lower tier of the economy.

Fundamentally, though, the essential worker needs to feel in control of his life again.

Really, only unions can accomplish that.

Today, many companies consider anti-union activity and resulting fines as simply part of doing business, and some law firms come very close to advocating labor law violations as a good option. That has to change.

We really did break faith with the essential worker during the pandemic and its aftermath. We praised him when we needed him. And then we forgot him.

It is hard to be poor in America. But that is never forgotten.

It is hard to be a minority in America, whether by race, sexual orientation or gender. But that is not forgotten either.

It is even harder to have a criminal record in America, to be an outcast, to be homeless, to be left behind. But even all that is not forgotten.

It is hardest of all to be the essential worker. For that is to be invisible.

Bruce Ledewitz is a professor and the Adrian Van Kaam C.S.Sp. Endowed Chair in Scholarly Excellence in the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. The views expressed do not represent those of Duquesne University.