Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Workers Rights

“Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.” according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The first Labor Day began in 1882, when New York’s Central Labor Union marched in protest of unsafe working conditions. Another goal of their march was to honor the benefits they were given from the union. Approximately 10,000 workers marched from City Hall to 42nd Street in New York City, according to Parade.The idea of Labor Day spread across the nation before becoming a federal holiday under Grover Cleveland. 

Related: Perspectives on What Labor Day Means

While unions are generally seen as a Democratic interest, celebrating the contributions of workers has broad bipartisan appeal. And there are plenty of aspects of worker’s rights and well-being that gain approval from people across the political spectrum.

Here are a few examples of data and stories to support that:

• Even with Republicans less supportive of unions overall, 43% of union members are Republicans along with 49% of union members identifying as Democrats, according to data from Strike Wave.
• 89% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans approve of increasing remote work opportunities, according to a Data for Progress (Left) and Vox (Left) poll.
• 51% of Republicans and 73% of Democrats support the “Schedules That Work Act” which, Data for Progress says, is “a new bill that would require employers to provide consistent and predictable work schedules. This bill would also protect workers from unstable schedules, like being “on-call” without a guarantee of work hours, last minute shift cancellations, or being sent home early when business is slow.” 
• 56% of Republicans would strongly or somewhat support raising the federal minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2023 with 86% of Democrats and 69% of Independents agreeing that we should raise the minimum wage to $11, according to a Morning Consult/ Politico Poll from 2021. 

See more examples of common ground on issues where you might not expect to find it:

• Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Abortion
• Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on LGBTQ Issues
• Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Foreign Policy
• Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Education Policy
• Here’s Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Crime
• Republicans and Democrats Actually Agree on These Gun Restriction Policies

Clare Ashcraft is the Bridging & Bias Assistant at AllSides. She has a Center bias.

This piece was reviewed and edited by Henry A. Brechter, Managing Editor (Center bias) and Andrew Weinzierl, Research Manager and Data Journalist (Lean Left).