By Martha Klimist-Zingo and Janet Rosen
Labor Day was a holiday created by our earliest labor unions in the 1880s. This was the start of a decades-long era when workers started taking to the streets to protest unsafe working conditions and grueling work hours.
Employers used detective agencies, armies of paid thugs and the National Guard to break up strikes. They railroaded labor leaders on trumped-up charges and routinely beat up union members who dared to strike. Shootings were not unheard of.
The struggle for workers’ rights cost many their blood and their lives. But they won their fight for better pay and working conditions. Labor Day as a holiday recognized the resilience of workers and their contributions to the development of the United States.
Today Labor Day is a federal holiday that celebrates the illusion that the United States honors and values workers. It serves as a barbecue-and-beer distraction from the fact that the value of pay and benefits have been dropping since the 1980s and that the government is actively weakening workers’ rights and safety. The irony of Labor Day is that many workers do not even get the day off because keeping retail stores open and production lines running is all their employers care about.
Capital, power and status are considered vastly more important than workers. Labor is treated as a disposable widget, just another column on a spreadsheet, when without us there would be no food, clothing, shelter, education, medical care, or any other goods and services. Put bluntly, without workers there is no society.
Yet we are put down all the time: When we need a living wage, we are told it cuts big businesses’ profits. When we join unions, our employers smash them or simply close down and move elsewhere. When we need medical care, insurance companies say that it’s not necessary. When we protest peacefully, the federal government arrests us and calls us terrorists.
Labor Day should once more be a holiday that celebrates the solidarity of workers across all trades, services and professions. Workers are the lifeblood of our nation. They deserve the right to organize and to be treated with dignity regardless of their job.
Hence then, the article about another voice labor day was published today ( ) and is available on Ukiah Daily Journal ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Another Voice: Labor Day )
Also on site :
- Gold Star Distribution Inc., Issues Recall of Certain FDA-Regulated Products in Three States Including Drugs, Devices, Cosmetics, Human Foods, and Pet Foods
- ’Beverly Hills, 90210’s Jason Priestley Shares Bold Callout After ‘Worst’ Travel Experience
- Tyler Perry Sued for Sexual Assault By New Accuser, an Actor in a ‘Madea’ Movie