This Week's Opening Thought: June 28, 2022

This week’s (late) opening thought: If you’ve never taken a moment to understand some of the ins and outs of labor law, both state and federal, now is a great time to start diving in, especially if you’re a member of the Global Majority or a marginalized community. Not just for you but everyone in your workplace, community, and family.

There is a real possibility that with our current Supreme Court, things will get progressively worse for many people in this country, for Black and Brown folx, Indigenous folx, folx with uteruses, queer communities, and people of color. Suppose the “governance” of many of our rights, privileges, and bodily autonomy will be “handed” to the states. This opens the gateway to employers utilizing discriminatory practices to harm Black and Brown folx, marginalized communities, people with disabilities, queer identities, and anyone who isn’t on board with white supremacist ideology and weaponized Christian dogma. Most companies you work for already utilize illegal to borderline illegal labor practices. Imagine how “fun” these companies will be when Supreme Court rulings begin setting the stage for “diversity” to become legitimately synonymous with white women and equity and inclusion become illegal.

Every Supreme Court decision made over the coming years and decades will play out in our workplaces through policies, procedures, and managerial actions that discriminate against and actively and passively harm employees. Remember that these are the same folx claiming critical race theory is creating “anti-American sentiments that are making real Americans (read: white people) feel bad about being Americans.” These are the folx that has anger toward LGBTQIAA+ communities for merely existing and wanting human rights. These are the same decision-makers who have woven anti-Blackness into everything they do, every law they pass, and every precedent they dismantle and reset in their image. And remember that many white people and privileged Global Majority folx who support these harmful individuals with their votes and money own or have power positions in our workplaces. Because of this, we all need every bit of knowledge we can absorb to protect ourselves and the people in our lives, including labor law.

I’m not saying you need to be a labor law scholar. But I am saying that now is a great time to familiarize yourself with your state labor board’s website, your union structure and bylaws, and state and federal discrimination laws as they pertain to the workplace. Something seems fishy at work? Google that sh--. Then Google it again to double-check your work from reputable information sites. Go to those twice-a-year labor law update workshops that your managers, supervisors, and many of your HR folx in your company don’t attend. They’re some of the most reasonably-priced workshops you can attend. And if you’re privileged enough to work somewhere with a training and development budget? Use some of that money to attend workshops and trainings that will help you understand some of the details of employment law employees are never made privy to knowing. If you’re privileged enough to, pay for them out of your pocket, so your employer doesn’t try to add “caveats” to your attending, i.e., quid pro quo sh—like having to come back to work and give a presentation on the training you attended.

FYI: that quid pro quo stuff is pretty damn illegal. You have the right to attend workshops or trainings for personal and professional development and not have to do something in return just because a company is willing to pay for some or all of it. Google it.

Look, it’s getting increasingly ugly and dangerous out here, y’all. There are so many ways to protect ourselves and fight for our rights. Make sure you have a fighting chance not just in the community but in the workplace as well.