Happy Labor Day!

Your damn right they did!

 I'm a proud member of the UFCW.

As I've noted numerous times before, this is my favorite holiday.  Despite Corporate America's and the GOP's best efforts to make it only a day to celebrate workers of all stripes (which it is), it's still the day when we celebrate all that labor unions have given us:  higher wages, better benefits, safer workplaces, and a voice in our careers.  Union made, union proud, and union strong.

This year I've chosen Billy Bragg's version of "Which Side Are You On?" to extoll this special day.  The song was originally written in 1912 by Florence Reece (at the ripe old age of twelve) while her father was on strike and updated it in 1931 to the version sung today.   Reece, the wife of a union organizer for the miners, updated the song when her family was terrorized by a mining company while her husband was on strike during the Harlan County War in Kentucky.

Labor Lyrics:  "Oh, workers can you stand it?/Oh, tell me how you can?/Will you be a lousy scab/Or will you be a man?..."

Enjoy--and Happy Labor Day!:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

UFCW 876

 

The Union Advantage

For the first time since I was twenty years old (that would be 43 years ago, boys and girls), this Labor Day I will be the proud member of a union, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.  

Not only that, but at this point in our history unions are winning historic victories (Starbucks, Amazon), union membership is rising, and we have a President and a Democratic Congress that are firmly on our side.

We have many, many reasons to celebrate this Labor Day.  The fight is far from over, but we are landing more punches and helping more workers each and every day.

Somehow in my yearly Labor Day post I have never used (though I did quote from it one year) "I Guess I Planted" (lyrics by Woody Guthrie, music by Billy Bragg, performed by Bragg and Wilco from their classic album, Mermaid Avenue) as my Labor Day celebration song, especially considering it's one of my favorite union songs.  So, we have two special firsts today.

Lyric Sheet:  "Union song. Union battled/All added up. Won us what we got now..."

Enjoy:

Happy Labor Day!

Peace,

emaycee