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As we celebrate Labor Day 2011, working families face greater attacks on their economic security than at any time since the days of the robber barons in the late 19th Century.

Across the country, politicians backed by Wall Street billionaires are attacking fundamental reforms that union members fought for over many decades – reforms such as collective bargaining, child labor laws, safety regulations and even the right of workers to vote. Together, we are fighting back with the spirit of those who came before us.

On Labor Day (and every day), we need to remember that our victories to improve the lives of workers were always opposed by the power elite.

And now, just as then, the elite feel no need for shared sacrifice. Rather, the burden of our struggling economy has been put on the backs of working families. Instead of creating good jobs and helping working middle-class families hold on to their homes and their dreams for the future, too many politicians want to give even more power to the greedy interests who created the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

By pulling together in the past, America’s working families set our nation on a different course. And that is what we are doing again. We will not let anti-worker billionaires and politicians turn back the clock and turn our country into one of “haves” and “have nots.” We are fighting for our future and our children’s futures. We are fighting for a strong middle class.

Thanks for everything you’ve done and will continue to do to make our union – and our nation – strong. And happy Labor Day.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL–CIO.

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