The working class is much bigger than just people with paid jobs. It also includes parents doing unpaid care-giving, people with disabilities, seniors, people receiving benefits, those working less than they want to, and workers in insecure or unstable jobs. Many of these groups don’t get the protections that many workers fight for, like steady income, benefits, overtime pay, paid time off, and job security. People with permanent or total disabilities, or those unable to work full-time, often have to navigate complex systems that judge their worth based on how much money they produce, instead of recognizing their humanity. As those who rely on benefits and other marginalized groups face attacks from the current government, we need to ask ourselves if we’re doing enough to stand up for the most vulnerable among us.
For too long, people on benefits, disabled individuals, and those outside traditional jobs have been unfairly labeled as lazy, unproductive, or a drain on society. These harmful stereotypes distract us from recognizing the deeper problems caused by an economy that has prioritized free markets, austerity, and profits over the needs and dignity of people. We must not fall into the trap of fighting each other. Someone struggling to get by on benefits, someone unable to work due to illness or injury, and someone stuck in insecure jobs are our allies, not our enemies. A missed paycheck, a serious illness, or a family emergency can cause hardship for nearly anyone. The way society dehumanizes those who don’t work or do unpaid work comes from the same flawed system that reduces everyone to how much they can produce or earn, instead of valuing their worth as people.
The IWW understands that fighting for workers isn’t just about factory workers, office employees, or specific workplaces. While many unions focus on particular industries or jobs, the IWW aims to organize the entire working class, including those whose work isn’t paid, is undervalued, or is left out of traditional employment. An economy driven by markets, resource extraction, and profits for shareholders measures people by what they can produce, rather than by their needs, skills, or dignity. When welfare systems are separated from the broader fight for workers’ rights, those who depend on these supports are left vulnerable to cuts, privatization, and austerity measures. Through solidarity, organization, and collective action, workers can build the power to defend each other not just at work, but in our communities as well.
There is no workers’ rights without the inclusion of parents doing unpaid labour, people with disabilities, seniors, people on the benefit, those with reduced hours and workers in insecure or unstable jobs. Today it is them, tomorrow it will be you. The sooner we understand this the better it will be for all of us. We must unite and work together and not let the ruling class divide us. Be the helping fellow who stands for every person’s intrinsic value rather than their perceived value as an object!