{"id":22518,"date":"2011-09-05T10:58:36","date_gmt":"2011-09-05T16:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=22518"},"modified":"2011-09-05T10:58:36","modified_gmt":"2011-09-05T16:58:36","slug":"labor-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/09\/05\/labor-day.html","title":{"rendered":"Labor Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Today, in the United States, we commemorate (with a holiday and everything!) and celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers in the US. Sure, that’s kind of considered passe these days, as the GOP fights to dismember the remnants of organized Labor in the US, and the Democrats make vague protesting noises and wave their hands feebly (note to President Obama — a front page note at whitehouse.gov about Labor Day might have been nice …). \u00a0The American Worker is lauded these in the ideal abstract as the Guy Who Can Do Anything, and rise from rags to riches and all that … but in practice, with Washington more focused on debt reduction than job creation, with unemployment remaining high and stagnant, with continued pushes for agreements that push jobs overseas, with attacks on the Minimum Wage, and attacks on labor agreements, and attacks on \u00a0…<\/p>\n

… well, it’s a very, very hard time for American workers. \u00a0And the future is not looking all that bright.<\/p>\n

Now, let’s not deify the American Labor Movement. \u00a0It’s a human institution or twelve, and thus subject to all the foibles and failings of any such. Union leadership has been corrupted at times by the same power that business leadership is corrupted by. Labor movements are sometimes just as likely to take on an arbitrarily confrontational mode as to look for a way for everyone (and their own long-term employment) to win. \u00a0Union contracts have sometimes gone beyond protecting basic benefits and safety for workers, and into Bizarro Worlds of entitlement and protecting the lazy and incompetent (I could tell you stories …).<\/p>\n

But, like I said, that’s humanity. \u00a0Business and Capitalism are just as prone to move from bold entrepreneurialism that enriches the community and provides jobs for workers to tax-sheltered vehicles for earning another yacht or twelve for someone who inherited a billion or two from Dear Old Dad and is perpetuating it by shifting all the Deadly Poison Mining and Manufacture to sweatshop workers in Malaysia where they don’t worry if kids are born with two heads.<\/p>\n

Let’s instead remember what the labor movement — and focus on workers as the producers of weath and representatives of America — have brought us. \u00a0Enjoy a 5 day work week? \u00a0Glad for overtime laws? \u00a0Pleased that your kids are in school rather than working in factories full of lots of exposed parts to cripple and kill them? \u00a0Glad you’re <\/em>not working in a factory full of exposed parts to cripple and kill you? Happy that you can get time off (even if it’s unpaid) when your baby is born or your parents are ill?<\/p>\n

Then thank the organized labor movement (and the politicians that responded to it). \u00a0Because we know that in a “state of nature” economy, too many employers will exploit and underpay and endanger and mistreat their employees any way they can get away with it for short-term, immediate profits. \u00a0We know this because that’s the way it used to be before organized labor<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sure, it’s weak beer compared to labor protections elsewhere (and while some might mock, it’s not clear that the US economy is doing any better than, say, Europe’s). \u00a0But it’s something to remember and be thankful for on this Labor Day.<\/p>\n

Some other thoughts …<\/p>\n

“The story of the labor movement needs to be taught in every school in this land. \u2026 America is a living testimonial to what free men and women, organized in free democratic trade unions can do to make a better life \u2026 we ought to be proud of it!”<\/p>\n

— Hubert Humphrey<\/a>, <\/strong>Speech, Minnesota State AFL-CIO Convention (1977)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Wherever there are in any country uncultivated lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been extended as to violate natural right. The earth is given as a common stock for man to labor and live on.”<\/p>\n

— Thomas Jefferson<\/a>, <\/strong>Letter to James Madison (28 Oct 1785)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend.”<\/p>\n

— Doug Larson<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We \u00a0have an ideal in this country that hard work will be rewarded. \u00a0That dedication to earning one’s pay will and doing right by one’s employer will mean one’s employer does right by you.<\/p>\n

To the extent that organized labor interferes with or short-circuits that ideal, it has perhaps outlived its purpose. \u00a0To the extent that business betrays that ideal, organized labor — and public policy focus on the regular American worker — is still very much needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, in the United States, we commemorate (with a holiday and everything!) and celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers in the US. Sure, that’s kind of considered passe these days, as the GOP fights to dismember the remnants of organized Labor in the US, and the Democrats make vague protesting noises and wave … Continue reading “Labor Day”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[68,21,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holidays","category-job-jollies","category-politics-law"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/labor-day.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":128308,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/10\/14\/the-decline-of-the-labor-force-participation-rate.html","url_meta":{"origin":22518,"position":0},"title":"The Decline of the Labor Force Participation Rate","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 14-Oct-15 7:21am","format":false,"excerpt":"This article breaks down the statistics in the change in the labor force participation rate (who's actually working or seeking work). Short summary: the most significant parts of the change are an aging population and young folk spending more time in school before going onto (or back into) the job\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13822,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/01\/15\/re-high-profile-high-labor-c.html","url_meta":{"origin":22518,"position":1},"title":"Re high-profile, high-labor, c…","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 15-Jan-09 3:07pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Re high-profile, high-labor, cross-functional, short-schedule projects beyond my normal job: how do I keep getting into these things?","rel":"","context":"In "~Tweets"","block_context":{"text":"~Tweets","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/tweets"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":136365,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2018\/05\/09\/because-of-course-the-trump-admin-wants-to-roll-back-child-labor-laws.html","url_meta":{"origin":22518,"position":2},"title":"Because OF COURSE the Trump Admin wants to roll back child labor laws","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 9-May-18 11:15pm","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Are there no work houses?\" Now, to be sure, what's being discussed are some easing of regulations on edge cases, in the context of apprenticeships. The argument is made, for example, that if once someone turns 18 they can operate hazardous machinery full-time, why have stringent restrictions on an apprentice\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/child-labor-breakers-boys-1911.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/child-labor-breakers-boys-1911.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/child-labor-breakers-boys-1911.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/child-labor-breakers-boys-1911.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":132200,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/12\/10\/because-theres-more-to-labor-law-than-minimum-wage.html","url_meta":{"origin":22518,"position":3},"title":"Because there's more to labor law than Minimum Wage","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 10-Dec-16 10:51am","format":false,"excerpt":"Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor, Andrew Puzder, has had most of the critical focus on him as an opponent of increasing the minimum wage (though his opinions on it are a scosh more nuanced than that), but the Department of Labor does more than just make sure people get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10388,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/01\/31\/i_suppose_its_a_good_thin.html","url_meta":{"origin":22518,"position":4},"title":"I suppose it’s a good thing…","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 31-Jan-07 11:40am","format":false,"excerpt":"... to discover that your budget automagically lost $300K of labor on it from the time that you last discussed it and had it approved by your manager to the...","rel":"","context":"In "Job Jollies"","block_context":{"text":"Job Jollies","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/job-jollies"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41010,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/02\/06\/because-compelled-labor-is-an-american-virtue.html","url_meta":{"origin":22518,"position":5},"title":"Because compelled labor is an American virtue?","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 6-Feb-14 11:48am","format":false,"excerpt":"The CBO report on the ACA indicates that some people, who are no longer forced to work full time for their employer in order to qualify for medical insurance (it being available from state exchanges) might cut back on their hours worked.First off, it seems more than a bit bizarre\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}