You're working harder than ever, and still falling behind

For much of the 20th century, Michigan was one of the most prosperous places in the world. In fact, at times, the median wage in Michigan was almost 20% above the national average. But for the last fifty years, we have faced a series of attacks on the foundation that built the middle class – from trade agreements that created a race to the bottom to the death by a thousand policy cuts that were accelerated under multiple governors. Utility deregulation. Right-to-work laws. The repeal of prevailing wage. Austerity budgets. The class war was waged on every front, and working people were expected to fight it with both hands tied behind their backs. And now, workers from all walks of life – college-educated, apprenticeship-trained, union, non-union, all of us find ourselves running up a down escalator. The legislative attacks against working families After the Great Recession, then-Gov. Rick Snyder eliminated the cap on charter schools and created "performance-based teaching initiatives." Funding was siphoned away from public schools to the grift of private charter schools and teachers were being underpaid in overcrowded classrooms. Soon after, teachers in Michigan left the profession in droves. If only there were some way to predict what happens when you double people's workload, cut their pay and vilify them in the media ... Other industries faced enormous challenges, too. The recession hit auto workers and construction workers like a two-year gut punch, the financial bruises of which would take more than a decade to heal. Of course, there were all the emergency managers, remember them? They had an actual playbook: privatize union jobs, squeeze the workforce, sell off revenue-generating assets and call the resulting short-term gains a success. It was like a statewide pyramid scheme targeting working-class communities. Then there was gig work, COVID-19, DOGE, and of course, the corporate strategies of delay and litigate as workers bravely united against mega-corporations like Amazon and Starbucks. It is amazing to me how tough workers in Michigan are. The rising tide that drowns all boats But in the last few years, I've noticed a shift. The lines between white-collar, pink-collar and blue-collar work are blurred. White collar workers are facing what feels like a NAFTA-like attack from AI. It's stressful and exhausting and raises are outpaced by the rising cost of living. Pink collar workers are over-extended and emotionally exhausted ... and raises are outpaced by the rising cost of living. And many blue-collar workers are worried that health care costs and raising the retirement age will make it difficult to work in fields that can take a toll on the physical body. It's exhausting and also, raises are outpaced by the rising cost of living. See what I mean about the blurred lines? Whether you are a lawyer, a librarian, or a line worker, you feel like you're swimming against the current. Years ago, the answer was to organize a labor union. But today, that is not enough to fight the battles being waged by corporate America. The government we deserve As important and foundational as labor unions are, workers cannot unionize their way out of every problem created by corporate greed. That's where government is supposed to come in. And for too long, it hasn't. For too long, the agencies that should have regulated corporate power were impotent. Now, they're complicit. This Labor Day, we do not need workers to do more jobs. We need a federal government that does theirs. This economy is not working for working people and yet, it's working exactly as it's designed. Working people are getting squeezed, and our wealth is funneled to the already wealthy. We know how to fix the problems we face. We have already fixed them in past economies. We do not need more or better ideas. We need the political courage to implement them: We have done all of these things before in the United States, and I am confident that we can do all of them again. Not because I have faith in elected officials but because I have faith in us. We have been battle-tested in this class war and we can rebuild what corporate greed has tried to destroy. Happy Labor Day, brothers and sisters. Labor omnia vincit. Jen McKernan is the communications director for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online or in print. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: You're working harder than ever, and still falling behind | Opinion Reporting by Jen McKernan, Contributing columnist / Detroit Free Press USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect Reuters_USATLocal_GANews This story was originally published September 7, 2026 at 7:01 AM.