CREDO Tip: How workers can celebrate Employee Appreciation Day

Today marks Employee Appreciation Day, an unofficial holiday for companies and workplaces to recognize the hard work and dedication of their employees.

Here at CREDO, we’re fortunate to have a team who lives our values everyday and appreciates our work with good pay and morale-building throughout the year, like employee rewards and recognition, company outings and our favorite Cheese Wednesdays and Bagel Fridays.

But for many, especially minimum or sub-minimum wage workers and immigrant and undocumented workers, Employee Appreciation Day is a class privilege and hollow gesture. Wages have stagnated. Labor union membership is declining. Workplace harassment still exists, despite the #MeToo movement. Immigrants live in fear of ICE raids and deportations.

On this Employee Appreciation Day, we’d like to share a couple tips on how you can build a better workplace for you and your co-workers and stand in solidarity with workers who deserve better working conditions.

Be an ethical home employer

Do you hire workers in your home, like house cleaners, home attendants or childcare providers? Be sure to hire and treat your employees ethically by creating a mutually beneficial and supportive work relationship that includes fair pay, clear expectations, paid time off and a safe workplace.

Our allies and grant recipients at the National Domestic Workers Alliance run “Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network” where you can learn more about how to be an ethical employer at home.

Resist racist deportation policies

All immigrants deserve protection, dignity and respect, yet our current administration and its cruel policies are forcing the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country to live in constant fear of arrest and deportation. DREAMers, who have been eligible for work and deserve a path to citizenship, are constant targets of Donald Trump, who has promised to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and whose ICE agency threatens to deport them.

Support organizations who fight the Trump administration’s cruel and racist deportation regime and for more just immigration policies, including CREDO grantees Movimiento Cosecha, United We Dream, Detention Watch Network and Mijente. 

Support a living wage and better workplace policies

Nearly 2 million workers are earning wages at or below the minimum wage — which has been stuck at $7.25 per hour for more than a decade. That’s hardly a living wage. In fact, adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage is worth 17% less than it was 10 years ago.

What’s more, many of these workers endure discrimination based on gender, race and family status. Millions of women — especially those in tipped jobs — experience sexual harassment at a high rate and have unpredictable and unfair work schedules and little or no access to child care. 

Stand with these workers and support policies and lawmakers who want to raise wages, improve working conditions, end harassment, fight for racial equity and more. Learn how you can help from our ally and grantee ROC United.