Labor Day is about recognizing the contributions workers make to their communities and our state. It really can’t be overstated: Workers are the backbone of our way of life.

A thriving workforce is a sign of a strong economy and a successful society. When workers aren’t valued, we’re headed in the wrong direction—and that’s exactly what many Iowans are facing.

In recent years, decades of advances toward fair wages, working conditions and benefits have been lost to policies that are upending the principles that made our country strong, along with opportunities for Iowans to achieve the American dream.

In spite of record low unemployment, our economy has slowed to a crawl. Working families have been pushed aside in favor of corporations and profits.

Most GOP legislators and the Governor gutted the state’s collective bargaining law that ensured employees and public employers collaborated on mutually agreeable solutions in the workplace; slashed protections for Iowans injured on the job; put pensions in danger; and weakened wage and “Buy American” requirements.

The nonpartisan Iowa Policy Project sums it up this way: “Unfortunately, policy choices have put us on a road that prioritizes corporate profits over worker wages and corporate tax cuts over the public investments that allow for a strong, sustainable economy.”

The result is a growing inequality, with the rich getting richer. Meanwhile, many Iowans work multiple jobs and still struggle to make ends meet. That’s not right.

As we celebrate Labor Day, Senate Democrats remain committed to fighting for working Iowans, restoring and protecting workplace rights, and ensuring Iowa employees and employers have a fair shot at getting ahead.