Labor Day 2011

“Labor” Day.

  • The first labor celebration was on September 5, 1882 in New York City. Organized by the Central Labor Union.
  • By 1884, the CLU urged other labor organizations in other cities to join them in “Labor Day” events.
  • According to the Department of Labor, Congress officially declared the first Monday in September to be a national holiday – Labor Day. 
  • Labor Day should be observed with a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families.

Labor Day was created by Unions. I agree that there was a time and a place for Unions, especially in creating safe working conditions and child labor laws. Unfortunately, once Unions achieved their initial goals, Union leaders continued to push union membership on workers because the money and power were too hard to give up. Let’s face it, Union bosses decry the income of corporate fat-cats, while lining their own pockets with money from laborers. The union dues collected by the National Education Association (and state/local affiliates) in 2008-09 could fund more than 23,000 teachers at $60,000/school year (median household income in 2009 was $50,000).

A statement from one labor union website says:

Standing and marching together in solidarity has always been our best line of defense against those who challenge our basic rights, and paychecks.  We are well prepared to defend this challenge, and the next one.

“Basic rights and paychecks”. Unions in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and states across the nation are whining about the “loss of their rights” – the right to collective bargaining, the right to platinum health and pension plans paid for entirely by tax payers. These are not rights, these are strangleholds on all of us. Yes there is plenty wrong with trade policies in our nation and those have played a role in the loss of jobs to other countries, but it’s time organized labor take responsibility for the role they have played in our job crisis.

President Obama will be announcing his jobs plan on Thursday. The speech is suppose to include tax-relief and assistance for the long-term unemployed. This sounds like another “stimulus” package and not a jobs plan. Stimulus worked so well the first time, why not do it again.

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