SOLIDARITY
Solidarity ain’t a slogan. It ain’t a chant. And it sure isn’t something you put on when it’s convenient and hang up when it costs you a little comfort.
My name is Phil Wright.
Mr. Wright if we are doing business.
Solidarity is just the simple idea that everybody deserves a decent life — not a perfect one, not a fancy one, just a fair shot at standing upright without breaking their back or their spirit.
It means you don’t climb by stepping on the hands of the people beside you. It means you don’t look away when somebody’s being shorted, rushed, or quietly pushed out because they’re easier to ignore. You understand that if it can happen to them, it can happen to you — sooner than you think.
I’ve watched shops fall apart because folks forgot this. One guy gets treated bad and everyone tells themselves it’s not their problem. Then another. Then another. By the time it’s your turn, there’s nobody left to speak up.
Solidarity is preventative maintenance.
It’s knowing your well-being isn’t separate from the person next to you. Wages, hours, safety, dignity — they don’t exist in isolation. You pull one thread long enough and the whole thing comes apart.
“Salvation for a race, a nation, or a class must come from within.”
— A. Philip Randolph
A. Philip Randolph wasn’t talking about exclusion. He was talking about responsibility — the responsibility people have to each other when no one else is watching.
Solidarity doesn’t mean everybody’s the same. It means everybody counts.
You can disagree and still stand together. You can do different work and still recognize the same worth. You can want more for yourself without wanting less for anyone else.
A decent life isn’t too much to ask. It’s the baseline. Food on the table. Time with your family. A body that still works when the job’s done. Respect when you speak and honesty when you’re paid.
That’s what solidarity protects.
Not power.
Not privilege.
People.
Remember that, and you’ll find you’re stronger than you thought — not because you stood alone, but because you didn’t have to.
Now you know, Jack.
