ATLANTA — Gabrielle Saylor-Moore is a second-generation electrician who works with data centers to provide everyday essentials.
“Every time you pull out your phone, you can thank a union electrician," Saylor-Moore said. "We’re building sites for all the main data centers: Google, Facebook, Switch. A lot of your life is impacted by the quality of work we put in.”
Saylor-Moore is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a labor union that has about 775,000 members nationally. Unions all across metro Atlanta are raising awareness about their concerns dealing with workers in the current economy.
"Our number one concern is making sure families have living wages, have health benefits that can support our families, and basically being able to retire after we lose our bodies for work," Saylor-Moore said. "Labor Day is the day we celebrate all the people that died to make sure we have the rights that we have. I don’t see it as something put upon me. I see it as something joyful and to get out here and say thank you to the people who risk everything and sacrifice even today.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Georgia and metro Atlanta currently have a record-low unemployment rate of 2.8-percent. That's almost a full percentage point lower than the national rate. Labor attorney Gary Freed credits Atlanta as a major transportation hub that has easy access to seaports and the world's busiest airport.
“You’ve really got a lot of educated people moving to metro Atlanta and living in metro Atlanta. That bolsters the service sector," Freed said. "If you’re unemployed, you’re not looking hard enough, because there’s a definite need for workers in our economy right now. Atlanta in particular is just booming with opportunities in hospitality, entertainment, education, services. People are having a hard time finding employees to fit their needs.”
Logging and mining, information and hospitality and leisure are sectors that saw the most most growth in employment per state data. But slowly rising wages are not keeping up with record-high inflation, leaving people like Saylor-Moore wanting more.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Stacey Abrams, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia, headlined a picnic at the local United Auto Workers headquarters in Hapeville Monday. They both promised to support workers' rights to unionize. Warnock said he would support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which would expand workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain.
“You’ve got to be able to use your collective strength to get a fair deal," Warnock said. "Your commitment to improving working conditions, safety and protecting the dignity of work gets us closer to ensuring that workers can share in the prosperity they create.”
Abrams said if elected, she would grow jobs in Georgia by making technical college free, expanding need-based aid and focusing on apprenticeships. She cited spending the $5 billion budget surplus Georgia accumulated in the last year.
"Rights are one of the reasons we have labor unions, because workers rights are human rights, and human rights are those Georgia needs to protect,” Abrams said. "Yes, we have low unemployment, but that’s also because so many people are working two and three jobs. You shouldn’t have to work full-time in Georgia and still have to have a second or third job. We should be able to take care of our families and communities by doing a full day’s work and labor and take time to go home and enjoy your family.”
11Alive reached out to Gov. Brian Kemp's office and campaign organizers, but did not hear back directly on Abrams' comments blaming Kemp for not standing up for workers' rights. Kemp tweeted Monday about Georgia's record job creation and the governor's investment statewide that was focused on building a bright future in the Peach State.
Saylor-Moore just wants to know her hard work can be rewarded at the end of the day.
“That’s all people want," she said. "They want to make sure the contribution they’re giving, that people are honoring that contribution.”