STX Senate Candidate Raymond T. James Esq. Reminds Us: Labor Day Must Honor Our Past and Build Ownership for Our Future

  STX Senate Candidate  

  Raymond T. James Esq. Reminds Us: Labor Day Must 

 Honor Our Past and Build  

 Ownership for Our Future

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     St. Croix - Labor Day is an opportunity to honor the generations of working men and women whose courage, sacrifice and determination helped build St. Croix and improve the lives of Virgin Islands families. 

     Our labor history reaches back to the Fireburn of 1878, when courageous women laborers stood against oppressive wages and working conditions. That struggle continued with D. Hamilton Jackson and the organization of the St. Croix Labor Union in 1915, which helped workers demand better wages, fair treatment, and greater dignity. 

     This history is also personal to me. My grandfather was a laborer and union dues collector on St. Croix. Through him I came to understand the sacrifices made by the hardworking men and women of his generation - sacrifices that continue through the labor movement today. 

     As a former Assistant Attorney General, I also represented the Virgin Islands Department of Labor in the Triangle Construction/HOVENSA dispute and participated in the final settlement concerning union members’ separation rights. That experience strengthened my understanding that workers’ contractual and collective bargaining rights must be taken seriously and defended responsibly. 

     But honoring labor requires more than remembering its history. We must also consider how the collective resources of working people can create lasting economic security. Where legally and prudent, union resources should be invested in or used to purchase income-producing assets that build long-term value for workers and their families.

     Our labor movement was founded to improve wages and living conditions. Its next chapter should also help working people build ownership, strengthen their families, and create wealth that can be passed from one generation to the next.

     This Labor Day, let us honor those who came before us by continuing their struggle for dignity, fairness, opportunity, and lasting economic progress.

Raymond T. James, Esq.

Republican Candidate for the Senate

District of St. Croix

Ballot # 20