As we celebrate Labor Day and the past successes of the labor movement, we continue to mobilize for just working conditions, pay, and benefits for the working class. Workers have united to bring about revolutionary changes in past struggles, however, the modern-day labor movement has been increasingly derailed by the corporate Democratic and Republican Parties.

The Green Party of Virginia (GPVA) declared its support for the Bernie Sanders delegates to the Democratic National Convention who voted today in opposition to the party's rejection of Medicare for All. The Green Party has supported universal, single-payer healthcare for decades, and its nominee, Howie Hawkins, remains the only presidential candidate running on a platform that includes a community-centered single-payer Medicare For All system.

This Juneteenth as we celebrate the day the last slaves were freed in America, we must also be cognizant of the continuing legacies of slavery rooted in the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism that have been ongoing for centuries. The last five decades of Democratic and Republican Party rule have culminated in a system of modern-day slavery founded on racially discriminatory laws. Jim Crow, segregation, redlining, the War on Drugs, for-profit prisons and mass incarceration serve to further empower and enrich the ruling class.

The Green Party of Virginia joined this week with additional plaintiffs in the Libertarian Party of Virginia and Independent Green Party to formally file an amended legal complaint and motion for a complete waiver of signature requirements for ballot access for federal offices. Plaintiffs named in the lawsuit include candidates for president and vice president, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives.

On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, as economies are shut down by the COVID-19 virus, Mother Earth is recovering from the pandemic of man-made environmental destruction for profit. The air and water are clearer; light pollution, habitat loss, and smog have been reduced; and animal populations have rebounded. This is a glimpse into the environmental progress we can make when we place people, planet, and peace over profit.