On Tuesday, students gathered at Malcolm X College on the Near West Side to discuss the importance of local labor movements with alders from the 4th, 33rd, 46th and 49th wards.
“Where capitalism has run unchecked, labor ends up being such a key component to a fair democratic process,” Ald Maria Hadden (49th Ward) said.
“We need spaces in which we’re organized; labor is one of those spaces that we can unify around needs and rights, where we can have people with shared experiences, and where we can organize power. It’s one of the few places where we can really build power to combat and balance the forces of large corporations, big companies and basically big money,” she continued.
Students and members of the college’s student government association, Chinaza Odeluga and Eddie Taylor, hosted the conversation that allowed students to think about the future labor systems that they would be entering after graduation.
“A lot of our student body live within those communities, within those wards,” Odeluga said about the importance of the city’s alderpeople. “It’s nice to hear from people that are just like you.”
After President Donald Trump’s inauguration, attention has been centered on community building as Trump has signed several executive orders jeopardizing the economic livelihood, education and health of Black and brown communities. Earlier this month, several Chicago businesses closed for “A Day Without Immigrants” to protest anti-immigrant policies by Trump.
The Tuesday event, titled “Unity in Action,” highlighted the mindset and characteristics needed for labor movements to thrive, Taylor said.
As an elected official, Ald. Angela Clay (46th Ward) said her role is to listen to the needs of labor organizers and frontline workers.
“I view my role as being critical to say, ‘hey, how can I use your organized skills, not your labor? I want to use your organized skills to push this city forward. What have you learned?” she said. “The labor movement is close to the life movement.”
But in order to engage in labor movements, basic necessities like food, shelter and a liveable income need to be provided to workers, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd ward) said. As an elected official, she recognizes that more needs to be done by city, state and federal governments.
“In the last few years, we have seen a change in City Council where we’re getting more progressives elected to office who are way more friendly to labor. We’re able to pass things like Paid Time Off [ordinance] and One Fair Wage [ordinance],” she said. In 2023, Chicago became the first major city to dismantle subminimum wage, or wage that is lower than minimum wage, for all tipped workers.
In 2023, Sanchez supported a labor peace ordinance that was ultimately passed in City Hall. The ordinance supports employees who wish to create a union within nonprofits receiving city dollars.
“We want people who provide the services that keep this city alive, to be able to also enjoy a standard of living and we know that that is not happening,” Sanchez said. “A labor peace agreement provides for workers of nonprofits, to organize and not be retaliated against by employers, when they want to demand a contract and better working conditions.”
The alders also recognized general challenges they face such as constraints in federal and city budgets, and managing the economic interests of large corporations.
Ald. Lamont J. Robinson (4th Ward) reminded students to think about trades like carpeting and plumbing as they think about the labor systems they want to enter.
“What we’re hearing often is that the trades and labor unions are not getting applicants in the Black and brown community,” Robinson said. “We all have relationships with any of those trades and we can work alongside that person to get into those trades.”
Robinson emphasized that the labor movement leads to economic mobility.
“It’s also important to understand that labor needs to be protected because it is a great inroads to the middle class,” he said. “It is a great way that Black and brown folks have been able to provide for their families.”
