Justice, honor, strength...and courage. While LIUNA stands by these words, these are also just a few of the words used when commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday. However, we owe more to a man who put his life on the line every day so others could prosper. While we should reflect and praise the contributions he was able to make in a life that was cut far too short, we must also act to strengthen the foundation he established.

Dr. King recognized the connection between the civil rights movement and the labor movement, understanding that people who faced any social injustice were facing it in the workplace, too. Dr. King traveled to Memphis in 1968 where he was fatally shot in support of a sanitation workers' strike. Just as LIUNA does, Dr. King empowered people by uniting them behind the fight for a better tomorrow.

Dr. King credited unions for turning "misery and despair into hope and progress." He saw the danger and deception of so-called "right to work" laws. He sounded the alarm about income inequality. He made great strides, yet his mission remains unfinished. Let us recommit ourselves each day to Dr. King's dream of strong unions, economic justice and equality.