All the world’s a stage, Shakespeare wrote, and all the men and women merely players. There’s the delivery person, in a shade of brown, leaving packages on the front porch. There are various airport personnel, making sure everyone gets from here to there. Then there are the actors and writers, making a compelling argument out of whether art imitates life, or vice versa.

Right now, they’re all thinking about a strike.

Even as the number of unions has dropped over decades, recent labor activity with high-profile entities such as Amazon and Starbucks has shined a light on workers’ discontent. The National Labor Relations Board has reported an uptick in unfair labor practice charge filings and union representation petitions, the latter at a pace unseen since the 1970s.  

Labor unions are as American as apple pie. While elements of America’s strongly capitalistic society have bristled at them, a Gallup poll from last August states that support of labor unions (71%) is at its highest point since 1965.

Unionizing can be seen as an inconvenience – disruptive to commerce and to many Americans’ daily lives. But it can also be a crucial part of a restoration of community. Putting down tools gives us time to reflect, to reassess what really matters to a society. 

The “bottom line” speaks to profits and margins, but the bottom line is that a business isn’t successful without a value system that prioritizes people.

“Workers of the world, unite!” isn’t just the bookend to a communist’s manifesto. It is a call for empathy – an identification of this generation’s needs for housing, health care, and basic rights. While America has coined the phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” it is an aspiration for everyone in the world.