Labor Day
 

On this day we reflect and celebrate the American Worker. Here is a little info about the holiday and its origins.

http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day

Haymarket Affair;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair

Pullman Strike;

http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1029.html

Lawrence Textile;

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAlawrence.htm

Mine Wars;

http://www.wvculture.org/history/minewars.html

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5737/

Homestead Riot;

https://woodward8.wikispaces.com/Homestead+riot

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegi...mh_horror.html

As a kid growing up in the Youngstown area in the '60s and '70s, I knew some of the men involved in the Little Steel Strike of 1937, also known as the Memorial Day Massacre;

http://www.mahoninghistory.org/wdyk35-steel.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WV2q0k-uxU

http://www.illinoislaborhistory.org/...lic-steel.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memoria...ssacre_of_1937

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q3RUGLfFv0

There is TONS of history on this subject. The labor movement was long and often violent. And NO, it wasn't always "union sponsored violence", that is a distortion of history, foisted upon us by powerful interests with an agenda.

At any rate, I hope you find the links I've provided interesting and informative.

Dave

Thanks Dave. Have a great Labor Day, too! It's a shame that so much history and sacrifice goes unnoticed these days.

Yep, it sure is, Bob. I've even heard the laughable comment that Labor Day has nothing to do with labor unions. That it was started by appreciative employers. Can you believe that?

The depth and effectiveness of the lie is amazing, isn't it?

You enjoy your holiday too, Bob!

Dave

Might it have a greater impact if it were on 1 May, as it is everywhere else in the world?

Could be. Although I tend to think the anti-labor factions would then paint it as a Soviet (Communist) holiday.

That is, of course, the answer to my rhetorical question.

Yeah, I know. I am painfully aware of the games they play.

Dave

Read this in the WaPo today.
"Why the right to form a union should be a civil right"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...y.html?hpid=z3

I'm OK with private sector unions, not so much with public sector unions.

Interesting article and I believe the issue is not a new one. I believe at one point in the New Deal era, it was proposed that freedom to form a union be gauranteed as a constitutional right. But, there was insufficient support to warrant a constitutional amendment. There hasn't been since, and I doubt there ever will be. Although I, personally, would support it.

As with other things, I believe it's a question of balance. Organized labor run amuck is not good a good thing. Organized labor completely eviscerated is just as bad. Not just for the workers but for the nation as a whole, as I believe future generations will surely discover.

I've said it before; We've already been there, I see no reason why the past couldn't revisit us. Basic human nature has not changed.

Dave