Labor Day Was More Than a Holiday

Labor Day has come and gone. The parades are over, and the mattress sales have ended. The holiday that symbolizes the end of summer has passed, and yet the meaning of the day burns brightly against the backdrop of my surroundings. In fact, if I’m honest, it’s a full-fledged fire that has me totally frustrated.

Labor Day is supposed to be a moment to recognize the contributions of working people and the struggles that made many of the protections we take for granted possible. Yet this year, I found myself thinking less about the holiday and more about what it means to be a worker in this country, and more personally, in Milwaukee. It’s hard out here for working folks, and the reality is that it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Consider WE Energies, or the light bill, as my grandfather used to say. We never went a day without electricity because my parents couldn’t pay the bill. However, that didn’t stop me from understanding the choices other members of my family made to stay connected. Thirty years ago, I remember stopping by my aunt’s home in Indianapolis, on my way to Birmingham. She was five minutes off 65 South, and it was a great layover on my 12-hour drive. I can also remember grabbing a hot dog off their grill and relaxing in the yard before the real reason for the BBQ became evident…. their power was off.

My aunt was a homemaker who sold Mary Kay on the side, and my uncle was a construction worker. They owned their home, but the seasonal nature of construction work, particularly for Black men back then, meant that they were always on struggle. Always trying to catch up. Always robbing the refrigerator to pay for their lights. Always depending on the grill, to power family meals in the summer.

I thought about them upon learning of the local utility’s push to seek another round of rate increases that could further harm families already on the brink. This is the point, in the column, where I would normally talk about data, budgets, juggling, and a lack of fairness. But this feels more personal than stats. You see, WE Energies has already received six previous rate increases, and for me this is the real disconnection.

WEC Energy Group CEO Scott Lauber receives approximately $12.2 million in compensation. At the same time, Wisconsin and the federal minimum wage remains frozen at $7.25 an hour, a rate that hasn't changed since 2009. Based on a standard 40-hour week, Lauber makes roughly $5,865.00 an hour. Let that sit for a while. When you catch your breath, we could all agree that we have created systems that do not work for average employees, and it is not just an economic issue. It's a question of priorities.

Matthew Desmond's Evicted provided a painful Milwaukee-centered reminder of what happens when families live too close to the financial edge. While his research showed how deeply housing instability is connected to poverty, eviction, and economic insecurity, utilities are part of that equation too. When one bill goes up, you can be assured that another one will follow suit. The average worker’s pay has not kept pace with demands for more of their money.

Speeches and retail sales were crafted this Labor Day to celebrate workers, but it seems like we have forgotten why workers had to organize in the first place. You shouldn’t go to work every day and be poor, unable to afford necessities, and exist in constant fear of drowning in debt. As WE Energies asks Wisconsin regulators to approve yet another increase, working families are once again being asked to absorb more. In reality, we should be asking those in power: who in the world is looking out for working-class and low-income folks? If we can’t figure it out, then we need to pull our own plug on silence and a lack of advocacy on the issues that continue to hurt our community.