They “work historically” because workers fought “illegally” for years for the rights and protections that exist today. I don’t understand how this is defeatist. I’m all for worker power, and I’m glad these people are trying to push the needle further.

Pointing out that the current state of the law isn’t on their side is either “defeatist” because it has some implicit is/ought bias or implies that they won’t change anything, or it’s meaningless because they already know what they’re fighting against.