MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, LABOR DAY IN THE UNITED STATES

 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, LABOR DAY IN THE UNITED STATES

(From: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-labor-day-holiday)

The first Monday in September is celebrated nationally as Labor Day. So how did we get the holiday and why is no one quite sure who created it?

The Labor Day holiday grew out of the late 19th century organized labor movement, and it quickly became a national holiday as the labor movement assumed a prominent role in American society. Here’s how it all started, with the facts, as we know them, supplied by the Labor Department, the Library Of Congress, and other sources.

1. The idea first became public in 1882. In September 1882, the unions of New York City decided to have a parade to celebrate their members being in unions and to show support for all unions. At least 20,000 people were there, and the workers had to give up a day’s pay to attend. There was also a lot of beer involved in the event.

2. The New York parade inspired other unions. Other regions started having parades, and by 1887, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Colorado made Labor Day a state holiday.

3. How did the Haymarket Affair influence Labor Day? On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded at a union rally in Chicago’s Haymarket Square, which led to violence that killed seven police officers and four others. The incident also led to May 1 being celebrated in most nations as Workers Day. The U.S. government chose Labor Day instead to avoid a celebration on May 1 and New York's unions had already picked the first Monday in September for their holiday.

4. Two people with similar names are credited with that first New York City event. Matthew Maguire, a machinist, and Peter McGuire, a carpenter, have been linked to the 1882 parade. The men were from rival unions; in 2011, Linda Stinson, a former U.S. Department of Labor historian, said she didn't know which man should be credited - partially because people over the years confused them because of their similar-sounding names.

5. Grover Cleveland helped make Labor Day a national holiday. After violence related to the Pullman railroad strike, President Cleveland and lawmakers in Washington wanted a federal holiday to celebrate labor - and not a holiday celebrated on May 1. Cleveland signed an act in 1894 establishing the federal holiday; most states had already passed laws establishing a Labor Day holiday by that point. Sen. James Henderson Kyle of South Dakota introduced S. 730 to make Labor Day a federal legal holiday on the first Monday of September. It was approved on June 28, 1894.

6. The holiday has evolved over the years. In the late 19th century, celebrations focused on parades in urban areas. Now the holiday is a celebration that honors organized labor with fewer parades, and more activities. It also marks the perceived end of the summer season.

7. Labor Day is the unofficial end of Hot Dog season. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council say that Americans will eat 7 billion hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

8. How many people are union members today? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 14.8 million union members in the workforce in 2017. There were 17.7 million in 1983.

9. What is the biggest union today? The National Education Association has about 3 million people who are members, including inactive and lifetime members.

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RECENT UNION ADVANCES

After years of declining influence, unions are having a resurgence. Employees from companies across the country are increasingly organizing as a means of asking for more benefits, pay, and safety from their employers.

Between October 2021 and March of this year, union representation petitions filed at the NLRB increased 57% from the same period a year ago, according to recent data from the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. Unfair labor practice charges increased 14% during the same period.

More than 250 Starbucks locations filed petitions, and after notching the first win late last year, 54 Starbucks company-owned stores have formally organized. Workers at an Amazon warehouse in New York City recently voted to form the first union at the second-largest U.S. private employer and join the Amazon Labor Union. Google Fiber contractors in Kansas City successfully voted to unionize their small office in March becoming, the first workers with bargaining rights under the one-year-old Alphabet Workers Union. 

These efforts are resonating with the broader public. A Gallup poll conducted last September showed that 68% percent of Americans approve of labor unions — the highest rate since 71% in 1965.

“The pandemic was the wakeup call or the catalyst that has prompted two perspectives: ‘is there another way to work and live?’ and the relationship between employers with workers,” said former NLRB chairman and current Georgetown Law professor Mark Pearce. “The vulnerable workers — they were not only scared, but they were also pissed.” 

“Covid was everything,” agreed Jason Greer, a labor consultant and former field examiner agent for the NLRB. “A lot of people said ‘I’m seeing my family members die and my friends die and we were suddenly faced with our own mortality but a lot of organizations still expected you to work just as hard or harder.’”

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Karen’s First Thoughts

Since the 1960s, the pay divide between upper-level executives and the average worker has increased significantly.  Employees have become “expendable”, just a minor cog in a vast corporation.  Sometimes bosses are located in different states, even different countries, and don’t really know their employees.  “I am not appreciated” might be a rallying cry from the “rank and file” employees.

(Note, on my small-scale work as a part-time personal care assistant at a senior retirement facility, I am truly “unknown”.  My immediate superior knows me, her boss knows me, and her boss tolerates me.  (I’m not sure she has ever directly talked with me).  Beyond that, I am that minor “cog”. With the internet, texts, email, electronic company-wide memos - and my status (part-time, limited hours), definitely puts me in the background.)

With the “end” (not really) of Covid, workers jumped ship and found other employment.  If you have been to a restaurant, you might see signs that indicate (a) that they are understaffed; (b) be patient with employees; (c) they are hiring!!

MORE ON LABOR DAY TOMORROW!!!

LOVE WINS!!!
Karen White, September 5, 2022, ©