♪ >> On this Labor Day, we take a look at the history of this holiday and how it came to be.

More and more employees are working to form unions.

Are we seeing a shift in how Americans think about organized labor?

And working mothers left their jobs in record numbers when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

What experts say it will take to bring them back.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET and down that for Kentucky Productions.

The owner Press Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good evening and welcome to Kentucky edition on this Labor Day.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Thank you for spending some of your leisure time.

We hope with us tonight.

If you're enjoying the day off today, remember, Labor Day is about more than just sleeping in and grilling out.

So when did Labor Day big n and what's the thinking behind it, KET?

He's Toby Gibbs looks the history of the holiday that goes beyond a three-day weekend.

>> As the labor movement grew in the late 19th century trade unions began pushing for a special day to honor workers and their contributions to the U.S..

There's a disagreement over who propose creating a holiday descendants of 2 men with similar sounding names.

Each claim that honor some say it was P J McGuire of the American Federation of Labor or AFL.

Others claim it was Matthew Maguire, secretary of the Central Labor Union, regardless of who had the idea, the central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor organized a parade in New York City on September.

5th 18, 82 to show labor's solidarity and strength followed by a fundraising picnic.

Why September the thinking was the weather would be pleasant and the day would fall in between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving in 18.

87, Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day a state holiday.

29 other states gradually join the movement.

And in 18 94 Congress passed and President Grover Cleveland signed a bill making Labor Day a federal holiday.

But first, the only federal workers had the day off.

Some unions encourage workers to go on strike on the first Monday in September to get the day off.

Eventually private employers began recognizing the holiday and it's not just the United States.

Canada has a Labor Day.

Also on the first Monday of September for Kentucky edition.

I'm Toby Gibbs.

>> Thank Youto be union membership is not as strong as it once was, but in recent months, more and more workers are beginning to unionize.

So what does this trending for the future of the American worker and why are we seeing this trend now?

Our Casey Parker Bell explains.

>> More than 300 Starbucks stores in the U.S. have voted to unionize in the last year, including some in Kentucky workers at Amazon warehouses across the country are working to do the same.

America has a long history of unions, but membership has declined in recent years.

In the 1950's roughly one out of every 3 U.S. workers belong to a union.

That's according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today.

It's about one out of 10.

But there's a renewed push towards organized labor.

Bill Londrigan is the longtime president of the Kentucky chapter of the A F L C I O he says it's encouraging to see this level of enthusiasm for organized labor.

>> What the Union movement to the various levels to 40 years now, never on during that time frame.

Have we seen this level of enthusiasm for organizing for unions going by Gallup, which they've been doing just 13 you know, right now with the highest approval rating for probably since the You know, it's believable.

>> Wondercon sense.

Younger workers are driving the movement.

>> You see a lot of work to say to young workers, particularly in some of the realize that they're going to improve their in their work wives and whites and standard of living the way to go is to unite and have a collective bargaining agreement.

This Labor Day 2022. is really going to be a home or to some of the you know, widespread organizing that's going on in decades.

>> Kentucky trails the national average for workers belonging to a union in 2016, roughly 11% of employed.

Kentuckians were union members.

That percentage has fallen every year since it's now just above 7%.

Despite the total number of Kentucky workers increasing.

Arianna Levinson is a law professor at the University of Louisville.

She calls this a historic moment for unions and says the pandemic created opportunity for the movement.

>> These conditions right now where you have a lot of wealth inequality, you're coming out of the pandemic where people have seen a lot of help, how certain that workplaces, some things to know where some workplaces, something seen.

Also, how much better workplace can be in terms of flexible scheduling and remote work.

And they also have and a lot of the streets right now because of high beaten, see rates.

>> Levinson predicts the unionization movement will continue both in the U.S. and in Kentucky.

But she does not expect a sizable increase in union membership.

>> Because we have not added at this point.

And last, these are some men can really bring enough pressure to bear to get some legislative change.

It's unlikely that this well result in a substantial increase in the state Senate in Kentucky, in particular, in Kentucky being such a conservative and pro and slayer state generally.

>> For Kentucky edition, I'm Casey Parker Bell.

>> Thank you, Casey.

A Gallup poll released just last week shows 71% of Americans approve of labor unions.

That's the highest approval rating since 1965.

We recently sat down with the Kentucky worker who is hoping to bring about some change.

We want to know why they're working to unionize and get their thoughts about how Labor Day is celebrated.

>> Personally working to unionize because I believe in the power of the working class we are deserving of livable wages, excellent working conditions and to be treated with dignity and respect.

And I think that we can accomplish that with the union.

It is.

About the money.

Yes, but I think that there are a lot of today in general of like this idea that.

Like I said, like unskilled labor and that like the they don't deserve either whether it's respect communication or to have a seat at the table.

A lot of employees talk about.

How important is that?

You know, we care about you need.

We want to do these things for you.

We want to listen to you, but rarely is it ever like accomplished?

I am committed to the work when I'm scared too.

You know.

And so I don't feel it's necessary to be committed to say work when I'm not scheduled or when I have a day off from my past manager in front both work an excessive amount and are expected to do an excessive amount of That's like I'm saying like.

50 to 60 hours a week and sometimes it's Knighton like they're expected to clock in there.

Just expecting to go there in do this job that they're not getting paid for.

have given us a lot of pushback from.

You know, a union busting tactics like intimidation like this come into, they come in.

Dishes are becoming a Gardner and all of our other 17 locations and >> question people asked to know is if they can point out who is, you know, trying to unite his organizing.

I love working high others, I love the people that I work with in the community that we came together.

It literally like when I tell you that these people are my best friends like that is not, you know, hyperbolic.

I really genuinely believe these guys are my best friends not only do I still work here for that reason, but also it's just like where where does change happen?

If you just give up, you know, I'm saying the reason I wouldn't go find a different job because I've done that.

I've done it.

I've done it.

I've worked a million different ways.

It feels like I'm in my young and them it's just.

It makes you, you know.

He's a paper or statistic among all of their other pieces of paper in statistics.

You know, it's it's and it doesn't enact real change.

>> Well, this is a developing story that we will continue to follow will be seeking comment from Honey brothers in the days to come last month gun that America's largest newspaper chain announced layoffs just last week, journalist at The Courier-Journal in Louisville announced on Twitter they intend to vote on unionizing.

The Courier Journal Gill tweeted, quote, We will organize, we will vote.

We will win and we will create a better future for Kentucky and southern Indiana journalism.

The Guild says it wants livable salaries for employees and wants the company to drop pay walls on some stories, including those on COVID and natural disasters.

If you ask someone why they work, most people say it's because of the money right?

>> But choosing where to work is also something many people take into consideration.

We hit the street to ask people why they like their current job and what they're looking for from an employer.

>> Want to see people every day and talk to people.

And I had a friend that worked there that was there like that.

So we're going over there.

>> A new employer would have to offer me Good job salary.

Of course, and creative license.

>> More flexibility in scheduling asking for you if you need a day off being able to accommodate that.

A better work, life balance usually and health care.

That kind of strange.

So a company that prioritizes that can be spent.

Get to work with people.

>> I'm the boss.

So kind of.

It's my way or the highway kind of it's kind of deal.

Good pay.

Good benefits.

Good vacation.

Time.

I've lost the top of that to be somebody that out, you know, a treat me with respect.

And have good can make good communication skills.

We get to help people on a daily Get him out of bad situations.

>> And provide a positive life.

And I would want some flexibility with work right I can make my own hours other than a court schedule.

And so that that flexibility is really important.

>> I can bring my doctor's office and >> it's just a lot of creative freedom.

So very lucky.

But just having something like that with a good office report.

I think it's the most important thing to me.

>> Well, many labor economists say that workers have the upper hand right now as employer demand remains strong, giving workers more negotiating power and the jobs they want.

And even in the ones they have.

I talked with the head of leadership, Louisville center about the current workplace dynamics and a new practice.

It's called quiet quitting.

Sam PM May pick.

It's good to connect with you.

Thank you for your time.

>> Real to be able to spend time with you.

Renee.

So let's talk about workers.

What workers want out of work and what companies expect out of workers do those line.

And some really good companies.

They do online.

But if you look holistically at the data across, what are we getting what's being given to us versus what we want from our employers?

No, I think there's definitely some this alignment right now.

Yeah.

And in what ways?

When I talked executives and when I talked HR leaders to offer up some advice council on what our employees want from us.

I always talk to them about 3 areas of focus.

Were you columns, if you will?

The things that your current employees and your potential ploy ease people that you're interviewing, how they are evaluating you in your job, offer is on one career.

Is this in the best interest of my career?

2, your company and the culture of your company.

Is this a really good place to work?

And 3, what I would call kind of the broader community, which is does working for your organization still allow me the opportunity to pursue outside interests for some people.

That's work.

Life balance means that opportunities to the family.

That's not always the that at the top of everyone's list.

But the idea to have to balance to pursue things in the broader community that is so those 3 things that the areas that I always focus on.

>> Well, there's another phenomenon or a lexicon that's come to the fore as of late, not trying to get schooled on and I hope you can help.

It's called quiet quitting.

What is that about?

>> The quiet gained its attention as it TikTok phenomenon.

Right?

That's where this comes from.

It's sticky because it's got some liberation and there's 2 ways to interpret it.

One way to interpret it is the idea of just quietly sitting back and only doing the minimum required of you.

That's really, really extraordinarily bad career advice.

I really hope people are not hearing quiet quitting in thinking, yes, this is a strategy I can use.

What's at the root of this going viral is the idea that we just simply don't feel valued at work.

So if you want to interpret quiet quitting in a more positive way, what this is, it's a shout out better communication.

I would.

I look at this and I say don't be quiet.

Be clear.

Votes that are opting into yes, quiet quitting.

I think I will do that and subscribing to the idea overworked and undervalued.

So I will simply just step back.

And quietly do less.

It's damaging to your career into the teen.

However, speaking loudly and communicating clearly about why are that's the way to go.

>> While the job market right now is hot job experts predicted will cool off, although they really don't know when and when the out the outright quit rate say that 3 times fast labor data trackers say is slowing, indicating some reluctance to switch jobs right now.

Kentucky ranks 45th in the nation when it comes to the number of people working or actively looking for work.

Experts say the lack of adequate affordable child care plays a significant role in the state's low workforce participation rate.

According to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

More than 46,000, Kentuckians are out of the workforce because they can't find child care.

A majority of those are out of work.

Are women.

>> A lot of workers simply are unable to participate in the workforce or regularly work at their job or at least have some consistency with their job simply because they do not have access.

2 ample childcare to 2 enough >> reliable child care and men are back to prepandemic levels of employment.

Women are still about 3 and a half percent below.

>> Where they were before.

A lot of.

>> That is due to the fact that they couldn't find childcare for half of Kentucky is a childcare desert where that means there's either notice childcare spots available in the place where kids live, where there's not so what that means is that.

Women often have to drive out of their neighborhood or out of their county to find a child care spot.

And even when they do that, child care is often the incredibly unaffordable right now due to cost about the same, to put your infant and child care as it does to.

But for full-time tuition at Western Kentucky University for infant parents when you have never paid child care before and all of a sudden you have a brand new baby.

>> You have to figure out where to get $800 a plus, you have you have a new baby to provide for.

And and so we do see this is one of the biggest obstacles to overcome for families and a lot of times it's a decision.

So maybe I'm working full time and I'm able to pay the intruder dollars a month, only bringing home $200 a month after that.

Is it worth it to get that $200 and as well to be apart from a child that I will time.

It only bring on the 200.

Maybe I'm only working so I can get my health insurance.

You know, maybe I'm paying all my money to childcare, but I have health insurance with my job or maybe as a mom.

I didn't want to leave my field and know that step away for 6 years when I come back, I will have lost that.

The good job that I hadn't have to re-enter the workforce at a lower place, you know, a whole other.

>> Part of the childcare equation is the fact the overwhelming majority of child care workers are women to their incredibly under compensated and that that's a huge deal.

But that's when the unique things about the childcare sector is that it's one of the sectors where it has a workforce crisis within itself.

But the same time because of the challenges within the childcare sector itself, those are then applied to the economy as a whole.

Every time we talk about how important those sectors are to keeping society functioning, what we're really talking about is making sure that >> we care for workers who are women in the state.

Think the first and most important thing we can do is make childcare more widely available and and ideally of a higher quality.

The other thing that we can do and I think we should really focus on is raising wages and the state women are the predominant gender in minimum wage jobs.

Wages are are lower in Kentucky.

>> And they've been low for a long time.

They've been rising in recent years, but still not enough to provide for a family, especially families with children.

We need to make sure that there's more Haley.

I think if we we did that, we would really be supporting women at work and ways that, you know, just sort of broad based across the border improvement.

>> Several groups are working to address the lack of childcare options in Kentucky.

Sarah Divisive wisdom is the president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc. She says her group is helping change where child care centers can operate.

>> Workforce participation is a really big issue right now.

And it said its all time low.

One of the things that is a big barrier to participation is childcare.

Childcare costs increased as a result of the pandemic.

The slots that are available are few and far between.

So one of the things that we've been working 9 local Metro is a change that has now taken place to the Land Development code where we have worked with Metro Council to allow greater flexibility to wear where child care centers can be located in terms of what neighborhoods.

There were a lot of restrictions around it.

But if we can open up different areas of our community to allow childcare centers than we are of the mindset that will be able to increase workforce participation, increase the supply of slots available for child care.

So another thing that we're working on is the affordability issue as it relates to employers set today, shun of childcare, the state legislature passed a bill this past session.

It was House Bill 4.99. that enables employers to get a subsidy to open daycare centers within their own shops and you know, hopefully the market will drive that demand to to be able to get the workers for the child care centers.

>> After seeing a drop during the pandemic, the number of older Americans going back to work is growing.

According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 37 million people.

55 and older in the workforce in the U.S. the labor force participation rate for that age group is 38% now in Kentucky.

More than half of the population between the ages of 55 64 are either end the work force or they're actively looking for work.

The labor force participation rate for workers.

65 and older in Kentucky is at 16%.

Whether it's the desire to stay busy or the need to stay afloat financially more and more people are working into their later years.

And that trend is expected to continue, according to the American Association of Retired Persons or AARP.

We spoke with Deborah Turner, a volunteer with the AARP about helping those 55 and older in Kentucky.

Find a job and how the organization is spreading the word to employers about the value of more seasoned workers.

>> We're not sitting on their front porches in a rocking chair.

We want to be out with people, whether it's volunteering, whether it's in the workforce.

There's an estimated 3 million workers over 50 who are currently seeking full-time employment across the country and in any given time, one of the things that AARP has found in their work in back to work 50 plus, which is program the AARP Foundation actually runs to help people look for jobs.

They found that adults who are 50 and older face a tougher time finding a job.

Keeping that job when there's a downturn and actually being comfortable in looking for jobs.

Older workers have better experience than a lot of people there.

There.

Also, they stay on the job longer.

They're more devoted are loyal and the service is usually very good examples to the younger colleagues.

And they're also very eager to learn new skills.

That's one of the things we've been Barry, the chief.

And as we work through the various programs with AARP.

People are very eager to learn new things.

They're going to be working.

They decided to make that choice as opposed to some of give us some of the younger workers are still experimenting.

When an older worker comes in.

He he wants to be there.

And this is something that they feel like they need to do.

It's one of the things the AARP and the foundation are trying to encourage employers to.

I understand so that it doesn't become so difficult for those who are 50 and older.

2, KET or get the jobs that they want.

The things that we do with the AARP and the back to 15 plus program would provide coaching sessions to provide to the job.

Search, guidance and essential computer skills.

There's a publication that's available to anyone who wants to enroll in the program called the 7 Smart Strategies for 50 plus job seekers.

They're also free workshops in all of communities across the country.

AARP operates in all 50 states and 3 other as well.

So there are connections with local employers and those workshops are all free and available.

One of the challenges that we have in Kentuckyian I know it's.

The pair similar challenges across the country the education of our citizens is not necessarily up to where it needs to be in Kentucky.

We have a program that's the Kentucky come backers and what that is is to encourage people in Kentucky to get their GED and 2 help point them in a direction to do that or to earn a college certificate or trade school or earn a bachelor's degree.

If you're 65 and I'm sure people would be interested to know you can go to college for free.

And if you're wanting to get a college certificate, you there is a work ready.

Kentucky program that AARP provides information on.

One of the reasons that people 15, 5 and older, maybe even 65 and older are going to be looking for another job.

Is that they they have been working at a place that required.

Lifting or involvement in in that way.

So they're going to be looking for more positions court.

You know, there's and s there's a computer or there some other way they can be engaged with the population, reading them the lifting.

But that doesn't lessen their desire to work and he doesn't KET them from being eager to learn new skills.

They're still willing to do that.

>> Here here, here's to the 50 and-over crowd.

We hope to see you again tomorrow night for Kentucky edition where we inform connect and inspire.

Take good care.

I'll see you tomorrow night.