Washington DC – In a virtual town hall Wednesday night, Senator Bernie Sanders did what very few politicians ever do: bring together striking workers across the nation to highlight their common struggles and demands for change.

Chris Laursen, Trevor Bidelman, and Melissa Piechowicz come from different parts of the country and work in different industries.

Laursen is a John Deere worker in Ottumwa, Iowa; Bidelman is a fourth-generation Kellogg worker in Battle Creek, Michigan; and Piechowicz is a registered nurse at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, New York.

Despite those differences, all three are union members who share a similar struggle – and they're all on strike.

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Laursen and Bidelman's fight centers around fair and equitable wages and benefits. In the 1990s, their companies moved to a two-tier system that gave newer employees lower salaries and deprived them of the same healthcare and pension plans.

Compromises that don't address those inequities "always come at the expense of junior workers and future workers," Bidelman explained.

They also said Deere & Co. and Kellogg began moving a lot of their business south of the border around the same time, increasing workers' job insecurity in addition to cutting their benefits.

Labor conditions have deteriorated on site as a result, with Kellogg employees regularly working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week.

In Piechowicz's case, the primary issue is staffing. She and her colleagues at Mercy Hospital are over-burdened in a job that should be about providing the best-quality individual care.

The results can be catastrophic, as she explained: "Imagine being terrified because you can't breathe, and I have to run in and be as impersonal as possible, just like a robot. I put you on here, I assemble you, and I get out as fast as I can. That's terrible. That's not healthcare."

The reason they can't attract more workers isn't due to a natural lack of interest in the profession but rather to the hospital's mistreatment of its own employees.

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In Piechowicz's words, "You can't bring people in to work if you're not giving them competitive wages."

The three essential workers pointed out that they aren't asking for anything unreasonable – just basic human dignity. Though they were praised as heroes during the pandemic, they aren't being treated like it.

As Bidelman put it, "This is all about worker exploitation. Kellogg's, just like John Deere, just went through a very profitable year through the Covid pandemic. We were hailed as heroes. [...] But then you turn around and you go 16 months later, and all the sudden the hero is a zero."

"This is a battle for the middle class," Laursen added.

But the winds are starting to shift as workers are finally getting a taste of their own collective power.

The union workers reported that spirits are high on the picket lines, and they are committed to holding the line until their material needs are met.

In the case of John Deere, strikers have already secured huge wins in the most recent contract negotiations, but they are not done yet.

Laursen said many workers who may have thought they were just paying union dues and not getting much out of it are finally feeling the power of their collective efforts.

Essential in that fight for greater equity is the strong bond workers have formed through the strikes, and that solidarity extends beyond political divides, they said.

Laursen said Deere workers in Iowa have different political beliefs, but they have been able to put those aside to pursue their common cause. He and his colleagues have intentionally avoided politicizing their activities, but he hopes they will later be able to look back and see which politicians supported them – with a nod to Senator Sanders.

Bidelman agreed that Kellogg workers are coming together despite differing political opinions, adding, "I will say that there's been far more Democratic support coming out supporting us. [...] But we do have some Republican support as well, which I think is big because that allows everybody to see that our fight is the right fight."

"Having the union back us makes our workplace have accountability for the things they do," Piechowicz said, saying she is grateful the Buffalo strike is "part of [her] story."

Bidelman described being in a union as "something that you can't explain until you've been a part of it. [...] When you stand together, there's really nothing that we can't achieve."

"We'll stand one day longer than they're willing to let us stay out," he insisted.

Visibly moved by the testimonies, Sanders wrapped things up with an urgent appeal: "Let's make it clear to the world that we are human beings. We are entitled to unalienable rights. We have the right to be treated with respect and dignity. That's what this whole struggle is about. Solidarity forever."