In Observance of Labor Day

Happy Labor Day, everyone! We celebrate Labor Day both to pay tribute to the dedicated work done by American workers and to commemorate the improvements in our quality of life won by the steadfast efforts of the American Labor Movement.  The first Labor Day was celebrated on September 5, 1882 by the Central Labor Union in New York City.  By the time Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894, it was already being celebrated in thirty states.  As you enjoy the day off today, don't forget to think a moment or two about the sacrifices made throughout the years to win the pay, rights and benefits that even non unionized workers today enjoy.

One of the earliest focuses of Labor was workplace safety.  In 1904, 27,000 American workers were killed on the job just in transportation, manufacturing and agriculture.  In 1914 35,000 died in industrial accidents and 700,000 were injured--and that was in a population only one-third that of the United States today.  Particular incidents such as the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911 galvanized the people and finally moved protective legislation.  In that disaster 146 workers, mostly women, burned or leaped to their deaths from the eighth, ninth and tenth floors of a New York high rise.  Without running water, fire escapes or fire extinguishers, with the doors locked and the fire department's ladders not reaching past the seventh floor, the tragedy was inevitable.  100,000 marched in support of workplace safety regulations and the politicians finally had the courage to overcome employer resistance.

The Populist and Progressive Parties of the 1890s and early 1900s stood for the rights of union membership and collective bargaining.  They campaigned for the 8-hour day, railroad, banking and telecommunications regulation, health and safety protections and a minimum wage.  Though both parties eventually went defunct, virtually their entire programs were eventually adopted, much of them co-opted by the Democrats and Republicans.  They endured violent assaults that killed many workers in such strikes as that at the Homestead Steel Mill and Pullman Sleeping Car Company.  

Such standard practices as lunch breaks, weekends, overtime and holiday pay, vacations, health benefits, worker's compensation, health and safety standards and enforcement and even the concept of national immigration restrictions owe their existence to the organized labor movement, which is nothing less than the democratic action of workers banding together to support humane treatment, due process and a just compensation in repayment for the value they add to their employer's bottom line.

In these times when once again large employers and conservative politicians are trying to roll back the benefits common people have won through years of struggle, give a thought or two on this Labor Day to the workers down through the years who risked their jobs, safety and sometimes even gave their lives for the pay and working conditions most of us now enjoy.