I have a vision of healthy and safe workplaces

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made discrimination on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and sexual harassment illegal.

But 50 years later, workplaces are still unhealthy.

Fifty years later, employees still suffer from abuse of power at work. Fifty years later, employees still endure stress disorders and depression from verbal abuse, threatening, humiliating, or intimidating conduct, and sabotage. Fifty years later, our nation's most productive and moral employees fear an abusive boss might kick them down again, like a bulldog sitting in the corner ready to bite without warning.

Fifty years later, businesses suffer from decreased productivity, lower morale, and increased absenteeism when business owners tolerate a bully's destructive behavior. Fifty years later, businesses lose hundreds of thousands in expenses from high turnover when they allow abusers to make targets' lives miserable. Fifty years later, businesses suffer from higher health care costs when abuse leaves targets with more dependence on the health care system.

But we refuse to believe that there is no room for improvement in the health and safety of our workers. We refuse to believe that there is no room for progress for justice for employees.

So we have hope for employees for the comfort of health and justice. And remind employees that the time is now for progress with health and justice in our workplaces. The time is now to stand back up after getting kicked down. The time is now to pick up our employees from the depths of anxiety and depression to the warmth of accomplishment and support.

The misery from suffering will not pass until there is mental peace from health and justice. Employees will not accept business as usual. Employees will not rest until their rights to healthy and safe workplaces are granted. As we stand on the brink of healthy and thriving workplaces, the demand for change will rattle our workplaces until justice is served.

So we keep going.

We can never be satisfied as long as employees' well-being suffers from the torment of workplace abusers. We can never be satisfied as long as employees' physical and mental health are only as strong as their low moral, low competence abusers allow. We can never be satisfied as long as abusers' egos hold more importance than targets' lives. We can never be satisfied as long as Americans do not have a right to work with dignity.

Our veterans of suffering from workplace abuse know that change will happen. Even as targets suffer anxiety from the thought of going back to work tomorrow, we still have hope for better workplaces.

We have a vision that every worker will work with dignity.

We have a vision that every worker will feel valued and accomplished for his or her work.

We have a vision that every worker will feel empowered at work.

We have a vision that every worker will work together toward a greater purpose.

And when this happens, our nation's employees will be healthy, safe, and productive.

Inspired by Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech.