Galvanizing Labor Day for a Workers’ Compact

Watch the full event stream here.

Ralph Nader and Busboys and Poets present Galvanizing Labor Day for a specific Workers’ Compact (see: Ralph Nader’s Compact for American Workers and Robert Reich’s 10-Point Plan To Make America Affordable). 

This event featured discussions of how unions can maximize the impact of Labor Day to mobilize workers and voters ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and afterwards. Leading figures in the labor movement made the case for taking control of our country back from the corporatists who dominate our nation’s political economy. 

This critical forum was held on Labor Day 2026 at Busboys and Poets.

Speakers:

• Ralph Nader, Consumer Advocate, lawyer, and author
• Damon Silvers, Visiting Professor of Practice in Labour Markets and Innovation at University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) and former Director of Policy and Special Counsel for the AFL-CIO
• Robert Reich, UC Berkeley Professor and former United States Secretary of Labor
• Gene Bruskin, Labor Activist and founder of Labor Network for Ceasefire.
• Chris Townsend, Former United Electrical Workers (UE) Washington representative and founder of the Labor Organizing School.
• Bill Meade, Former International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) member, Former CEO of a NYSE publicly traded company, and Founder and Executive Director of Fight For A Living Wage.
• Theresa Amato, Principal of Amato PLLC,  moderated the program. Amato is the first woman in U.S. history to manage two high-profile presidential campaigns outside the two major parties—Ralph Nader’s 2000 and 2004 campaigns. She is the author of several publications, including Grand Illusion: The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny (The New Press.)

A full video is also available on Busboys & Poets’ YouTube page.