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As the daughter of parents who dedicated decades of their working lives to the public sector, I am completely behind the value of labor unions. The union my mother belonged to allows her to live comfortably in retirement after her divorce. It's no secret that as union membership has dropped, income inequality has risen.

It is sad therefore to me that the Democratic Party does not recognize nor strive to foster a better actual relationship with labor unions. It's one thing to pay lip service to it, it's another to set up the Democratic National Convention in the rabidly anti-union state of North Carolina. On Up with Chris Hayes, the entire first hour was devoted to the role of unions in the economy, its tenuous relationship with partisan politics and the how the diminishing union participation has hurt the average American worker.

Union member Saladin Muhammad reminds viewers that workers' rights are in fact, human rights, providing workers with the dignity of honest pay, benefits and safety in the workplace.

So as we take this three day holiday, let us not forget or take for granted that labor unions made it possible, as well as these other benefits: