I absolutely agree. We need to be fighting for modern legislation to protect workers as well as trying to hold on to badly eroded victories of many decades past.

I must admit that I’ve been working white collar engineering jobs for nearly 15 years now, so I’m not exactly an authority on being a minimum wage worker. I thought you were still eligible for unemployment and that it was paid for by your employer?

> I must admit that I’ve been working white collar engineering jobs for nearly 15 years now, so I’m not exactly an authority on being a minimum wage worker. I thought you were still eligible for unemployment and that it was paid for by your employer?

Yes, this is correct.

once change is achieved it needs to be preserved and defended from attack, forever.

We absolutely should be fighting for more. But we shouldn't be so hardlined on more that we lose what we have.

The two things are not opposed to each other. The Fight for 15 movement has been successful in many places by explicitly invoking the true legacy of a “minimum wage,” socialized healthcare is more popular than ever under the banner of “Medicare for All.”

I agree that it’s important to push intellectually beyond a reform-minded liberalism that seeks to “take the edges off” of Capitalism. But that doesn’t exclude using the history of labor protections or organization as a jumping off point.