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President Obama showed greedy corporations how workers should be treated by responding to a We The People petition by federal employees with an executive order giving workers the day after Christmas off.

President Obama showed greedy corporations how workers should be treated by responding to a We The People petition by federal employees with an executive order giving workers the day after Christmas off.

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The federal workers argued that they have dealt with three years of pay freezes and furloughs due to the sequesters, so they would like the day after Christmas off, so that they can have a four day weekend.

The petition stated,

Federal Employees have dealt with pay freezes and furloughs over the past few years. Giving federal employees an extra holiday on Dec. 26th, 2014 would be a good gesture to improve morale of the federal workforce. Some bases are forcing their employees to take leave or LWOP because of base shut-downs on this day. This is also consistent with past practice. President Obama provided a full-day Monday Dec. 24, 2012 and a half-day off on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009. President George W. Bush provided a half-day holiday on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2002, as well as several full days off the day before or after Christmas: Tuesday, December 24, 2001, Thursday, December 26, 2003, Tuesday, December 24, 2007, and Thursday, December 26, 2008. We urge President Obama to issue an executive order.

The president responded by issuing an executive order giving federal workers the day after Christmas off. It was a nice gesture for workers who have been yanked around for years by the sequester and government shutdown.

This executive order doesn’t help the 25% of American workers who will have to go to work on Christmas and the day after. With income inequality at a historic high, the concept of holidays off has vanished for millions of workers. Millions of workers aren’t given the option to work or spend the day with their families.

It was nice that the president was able to do make sure that federal workers get a few family days over Christmas. What would be even better is if more companies put aside their greed for a day, and followed the president’s lead.

Workers are devalued in American culture. People tout the value of hard work without ever acknowledging the plight of those who are working hard, but barely getting by.

Our culture must change. If the nation values families and communities it collectively must stop rewarding greedy corporate behavior that puts profit ahead of families. Workers deserve a living wage and a chance at a decent life. The United States has returned to a Gilded Age level of income inequality and poverty.

In order for change to come the American people must stop accepting the unacceptable, and stop rewarding the greed of the few at the top that has fostered a family destroying epidemic of inequality and poverty.