Labor Day is a time for working people to reflect on the progress we have made and the challenges that remain. This year, like many in the past, has had its share of ups and downs. But our momentum is unmistakable. Collective action and collective bargaining are on the rise. Working people have seized the national agenda. And we are working hard to ensure that our elected leaders will rewrite the economic rules that for too long have benefitted the wealthiest few.

This recent momentum started with a bad trade deal. At first, the Trans-Pacific Partnership seemed like it would follow the traditional Washington path -- written behind closed doors by corporate special interests and then sped along under anti-democratic fast track rules. But something happened. Working people changed the debate and turned the process on its head.

We did not want to waste time arguing whether trade is good or bad -- we understand it is a necessary part of a modern economy. Instead, we put the focus on trade rules that for too long have rewarded and empowered corporations while outsourcing jobs and lowering wages. It worked. Fast track barely passed a divided Congress. Today, the TPP is on life support and candidates across the political spectrum are opposed.

As a union movement, we have become accustomed to playing defense. But working people are changing the game. As we block the TPP, we are laying out our vision for new, pro-worker rules on trade. As we fight state-based attacks on our rights, we are raising wages and strengthening collective bargaining one city and employer at a time. As we combat disinformation by employers who want to deny workers a voice on the job, we are finding fertile ground for new organizing. And as we set the record straight on Donald Trump’s false claims and empty promises, we are mobilizing to elect Hillary Clinton and other progressive champions. This is a transformational period. We have convinced the world the rules are rigged. Now we have the chance to change them. We are stopping the worst. Now we want the best.

We already have much to be proud of. Working people are winning raises at the bargaining table and the ballot box. Workers are organizing everywhere from traditional manufacturing to the emerging digital economy. And a recent National Labor Relations Board decision gave thousands of teaching assistants the right to form a union. Not only that, we have put inequality front and center in the presidential election and races up and down the ballot.

Working people want to build on this progress. We need a trillion-dollar investment in our crumbling infrastructure to create jobs and increase our competiveness. We need to raise wages and make workplace policies more family friendly. We need comprehensive immigration reform and criminal justice reform and equal pay for equal work. We need to rein in Wall Street and start rebuilding Main Street. We need an entirely new direction on trade that puts good jobs and communities over corporate profits. And most important, we need to break down the barriers too many working people face when trying to form or join a union.

The Economic Policy Institute just released a report showing that wages have stagnated because union membership has declined. This trend is not accidental. It has been driven by policymakers who want to make it harder for workers to join a union. When union membership drops, wages fall across the board. In fact, the study found that nonunion workers lose $133 billion in wages each year due to the erosion of union rights. The EPI called it “the overlooked reason why wages are stuck and inequality is growing.”

This is not news to us. When we sit across the table from our employers and bargain, we bring home higher wages, have greater access to health care and a pension and are more likely to be safe on the job. And when we set the bar high for ourselves, more employers raise pay and improve benefits to attract and keep the best people.

This Labor Day, working people are ready to change the rules so wages are higher, unions are stronger and our economy is more balanced. The TPP fight demonstrated our strength and resolve. We are ready to take the next step. Join us.

By Richard Trumka

Richard Trumka is president of the 12.5 million member AFL-CIO, America’s labor federation. Readers may write to him at AFL-CIO, 815 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006. -- Ed.

(Tribune Content Agency/Tribune News Service)