From the Wikipedia article on Labor Day:
Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.
Paid holidays. Paid vacations. Pensions. Healthcare. Dental care. Life insurance. Safety protections. The fucking entire middle class. Won us all what we got now, indeed--though, thanks to income inequality (or as I prefer, greedy rich assholes), it's about $18,000 per year short of what it could be for the middle class.
Over the past week we've seen that the fight for a decent standard of living for all workers marches forward--President Obama used his weekend address to again beat the drums for an increase in the minimum wage. In a related note, a study showed that 40%--40%, for fuck's sake--of restaurant workers live in near poverty (think about that the next time you're scarfing down an Encharito). Fed-Ex workers challenged and won against Fed-Ex's war on workers--it's claim that it wasn't responsible for wage-theft because it's drivers were independent (much like the fast food industry passing the buck to franchise owners for worker abuses) was soundly rejected by the courts.
Two things I hate about Labor Day: (1) That somehow it's a celebration of all workers--no, it's not. It doesn't celebrate scabs and the leeches who want the the gains of unions but don't want to pay the dues. It doesn't celebrate CEOs and anti-union organizations. It's for those workers who make our lives better economically and socially, not the shitfarts. (2) The fact that I can channel surf the hundred some odd channels we have and only Al Jazeera--and it's not even a fucking American company!--has anything on that celebrates labor unions, which is why the vast majority of their fat ass viewers have the day off. It's not as if there aren't quite a few good union flicks for the movie channels, and I thought--even if it is half-assed--that MSNBC was supposed to be the anti-Fox.
Two things I love about Labor Day: (1) That every liberal blog has at the very least one piece celebrating the day...which is also why I spend a lot more time reading liberal blogs than I do watching TV. (2) It's a time to remember some of the great songs and artists celebrating unions--ain't no way any self-respecting artist is going to sing a song singing the praises of CEOs or big business. Unions, my friends, are cool.
One of my favorites of the past few years, Tom Morello's "Union Town"--enjoy!
Happy Labor Day!
emaycee
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