As a labor organizer I can't overstate how important the Americans with Disabilities Act is to organized labor. If you have ever gotten your job to cut you some slack because of a physical disability or injury, or a mental health issue, or a learning disability, the ADA is what gave you force of law even if you didn't know it. I've been able to save the jobs of quite a few workers because of the Reasonable Accommodation process of the ADA
The ADA was passed because disparate affinity groups and organizations of disabled people fought tooth and nail to make it so. Activists lead by Patricia "the General" Wright played a hard inside game, lobbying to agencies and legislators and using as much formal electoral muscle as they could leverage, while more direct groups carried out demonstrations like the legendary Capitol Crawl, forcing lawmakers to directly confront them.
Disabled people, as is so often the case with marginalized organizers, fought for everyone while fighting for themselves. It's true that very nearly all of us will be disabled at some point in our lives, but also the ADA is a lifeline and safeguard to dignity for every American throughout their life, no matter how temporary their disability. And so one of the tentpoles of US labor law was built by disabled activists struggling for a better world for all of us while demanding their rightful place in it.
Happy Disability Pride Month, and thank a disability activist for fighting the good fight
