Bernie Sanders has been regularly making the connection between the relentless attack on workers by billionaires and big corporations, on the one hand, and racism and the impoverishment of non-white workers, particularly black workers. And, to boot, he regularly talks about of the importance of a strong organized labor movement–not because he needs a political contribution from them or remembers unions when its convenient but because he’s been in the trenches with unions for decades, walking pickets lines and taking on the issues that matter to workers and unions.

OK, so, now here’s some good ‘ole policy stuff to back up his points.

It’s a study called “A Profile of Organized Labor in New York City, New York State, and the United States” released to coincide with the U.S. version of Labor Day (as opposed to the rest of the world that marks the day for workers on May 1st…ahem).

The key part of the study that caught my eye is this big section called “The Black Worker’s Union Advantage in New York and the Nation”:

Black workers face enormous challenges, including persistently high unemployment rates and overrepresentation at the bottom of the labor market. However, Blacks have higher unionization rates than any other racial/ethnic group. Those who are union members reap substantial economic advantages, such as improved earnings, more job security, and greater access to employer-provided health insurance and pensions.

And:

The higher Black unionization rates confer significant economic advantages, as unionized workers are generally better compensated than nonunion workers. Moreover, unionized employment settings tend to have less internal earnings inequality among workers than nonunion workplaces. Thus the earnings gap between Blacks and non-Blacks is smaller among union members than among nonunion workers, as Table B shows.Table B shows that unionism offers Black workers a substantial economic advantage in regard to earnings—to a greater degree than is the case for non-Blacks, reflecting the fact that larger numbers of Blacks than non-Blacks are employed in low-wage jobs. And although race-specific data are not available for fringe benefits, it is well documented that unionized workers are more likely than their non-union counterparts to have access to employer-sponsored health care benefits and pensions. If this were taken into account,
the Black union advantage in total compensation would be far more extensive than Table B
suggests.

And, finally:

In short, in New York City and State, a much larger proportion of Black workers enjoy the advantages of unionization than is the case in the nation as a whole. This pays off directly in higher earnings, and suggests that Black workers would benefit disproportionately from an increase in unionization elsewhere in the United States.

This by no means is point to lessen the importance of talking directly about racism and the killings of blacks by police, and the need to stand up vocally and in protest to stop the killings and prosecute cops that kill.

It is to say that even if we were to eliminate the scourge of the part of racism that is flung forward by the barrel of a semi-automatic weapon, that will remain deep and persuasive when it comes to peoples’ pocket books.

Sanders has made this point his entire political career. He didn’t need to poll-test it or ask a group of 200 advisors what to think about the issue. He knows the connections deep in his soul.

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