Solidarity is not optional, but it is powerful

By Fabrizio Sasso
Executive Director, Sacramento CLC

The last year has been brutal for working people. As we move into 2026, there’s no sugarcoating it. Every day has brought a new attack—on our jobs, our rights, our dignity and our families, and there is little reason to think this pressure will stop. Under the Trump administration, unions have been targeted, collective bargaining weakened, immigrant communities terrorized and thousands of workers pushed to the edge. The economy is a mess, and chaos is everywhere on purpose.

Confusion is part of the plan. Fear is the tool they use.

We have to be ready for more of it in the coming year and know how to combat it.

Because chaos is the strategy of the powerful, especially this president. When people are overwhelmed and divided, they are easier to control. When working families are just trying to survive, they don’t have the energy to fight back. When workers feel alone, they feel powerless.

But Trump and his cronies have made one huge mistake.

They underestimate the power of solidarity.

In every moment of crisis over the last year, working people have refused to break. While the attacks on the working class intensified, our members stood up. They organized. They spoke out. They took risks. They showed courage. Out of anger, out of frustration, out of desperation, a new wave of trade unionism has begun to rise. And this time, it is impossible to ignore.

People are waking up. And they are rightfully angry.

We see it at the grocery store when a cart of food costs twice what it used to. We see it when our family members and friends can’t afford rent in the cities they build and serve. We see it when we drive past homeless camps and then turn on the news and hear about more tax cuts for billionaires. We see it when executives get raises at universities and hospitals while frontline workers are told to tighten their belts, that there’s no money for a fair contract.

People are waking up because they are tired of being lied to. They are tired of being told there is no money, no choice, no hope. They are tired of living paycheck to paycheck while billionaires live in excess.

And that anger, that fire, can either destroy us or it can unite us.

That is where solidarity comes in.

Solidarity is not just a word we print on a banner. It is a line we draw in the sand. It is showing up for federal workers at the VA Hospital and the airport during layoffs and shutdowns. It is bringing food, gas and support when families are on the brink. It is the Building Trades standing firm and refusing to work on projects that deny hospitality workers the right to organize. It is nurses, teachers, construction workers, casino employees and grocery clerks standing shoulder to shoulder—together—when any one of us is under attack.

That is solidarity.

No single union can carry this fight alone. We were never meant to. That is why our Labor Council exists: to connect us, to strengthen us, to build power across every trade, every industry, every community. Because whether we wear a hard hat, hold a clipboard, drive a bus, or care for patients, our work connects us. The roads, the lights, the schools, the hospitals, the food on the shelves—every part of daily life is built and maintained by working people.

And when working people stand together, history changes.

Life is better in a union. But now, our job is to make sure everyone knows it and to make sure more workers get the chance to experience it. We cannot let this moment pass. The frustration, the fear, the anger in our communities must be turned into action, into organization, into power.

Because when you are in a union, you are not alone. You are part of a family. You are part of a movement. You are part of something bigger than fear. Or chaos.

Solidarity is that promise, that where there is injustice, we will stand—together. Where there is struggle, we will organize—together. And where there is victory, we will celebrate—together.

That’s true solidarity, and it can’t be defeated.

As we move into a new year, I do so with hope and resolve. I wish every member of our union family a holiday season of joy and laughter, a time of relaxation to renew and reset for the challenges ahead.

Because together, we will not just survive these times, we will shape the future we all deserve—one that banishes chaos and celebrates collective good.