Anti-union laws gave us President Trump. This Labor Day, fight against them – and for progress.

Vance Muse, an avowed racist and anti-union oil industry lobbyist, created so-called “Right to Work” laws in the Jim Crow-era South at the behest of oil industry tycoons. Workers in states that have these laws on the books suffer from lower pay. A non-union workers earn $0.85 for every $1 a unionized worker earns. On average, unionized workers earn between $3.20 and $8.23 more per hour than their non-unionized counterparts across all industries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Non-unionized workers are less likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance and retirement plans. Employers of a unionized workforce invested nearly twice as much ($14.67 vs. $7.56) in employee benefits. Workers in Wisconsin can no longer bargain for better benefits or improved working conditions. They can only bargain for raises, and only up to the Consumer Price Index. Last year that was 0.12 percent. If you made $1,000 a week last year, you now make $1,001.20 a week.

Right to Work doesn’t give you the right to work. I call it “Right to Work for Less Pay.”

It’s no accident that swing states are targeted for Right to Work laws by the Republican Party. Attacking unions is their strategy to win. Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana all went for Obama in 2008. Between 2010-12, all three enacted Right to Work laws. The unions in those states lost membership, drastically cutting their ability to support Hillary Clinton. Trump went on to win all three states. We can thank Right to Work laws for Donald Trump.

While California isn’t likely to pass Right to Work laws, Californians will begin to see an erosion of many worker protections unions have fought for and won over the years, thanks partly to the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump’s appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch ensures the entire country will exist under this anti-union law beginning in 2018. Expect the conservative-leaning majority to overturn a previous ruling in Janus vs. AFSCME, a case that centers on the question of whether or not paying fees to a union to represent you is free speech. If the court rules in favor of billionaire-backed National Right to Work Foundation and Liberty Justice Center, workers will lose.

If we don’t stand up for our unions, they’ll keep taking hits, leading to another Republican White House in 2020. Vance Muse’s dreams of crushing unions will be realized.

Unions are the only force with the organization and financial resources we need to defeat Trumpism in 2020. On Labor Day, join 500-plus members of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council as we launch our fight against Trumpism and the Right to Work lie. This may be the working class’ most critical Labor Day.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the following clarification. The expected turnout Monday is 500-plus members. The total Labor Council membership is 35,000.

ADAM URRUTIA is an organizer for Service Employees International Union Local 521 and a delegate to the Monterey County Democratic Central Committee.

THE LABOR COUNCIL’S PICNIC LUNCH AND MARCH happens 11am-2pm Monday, Sept. 4 at Plaza Park, 358 Main St., Watsonville. Free. RSVP to political@mbclc.org.