Labor Day.....hmmmm. I'm thinking that not many people know why the first Monday in September is always a holiday. Ask and they'll probably say it's because of labor.With nearly 10% of those employable out of work this holiday needs reworking.
Unemployed Day?
I Got Screwed Out of My Job Day?
Take This Job and Shove it Day?
I Gotta Sell Crack 'Cause I Can't Find Any Other Work Day?
Or how about this? "Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day. It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken." ~Bill Dodds
But really Labor Day started like this:
"The holiday originated in Canada out of labor disputes ("Nine-Hour Movement") first in Hamilton, then in Toronto, Canada in the 1870s, which resulted in a Trade Union Act which legalized and protected union activity in 1872 in Canada. The parades held in support of the Nine-Hour Movement and the printers' strike led to an annual celebration in Canada. In 1882, American labor leader Peter J. McGuire witnessed one of these labor festivals in Toronto. Inspired from Canadian events in Toronto, he returned to New York and organized the first American "labor day" on September 5 of the same year."
In reality Labor Day is a last hurrah to summer. A lot of people go camping, boating and just plain get out of doors. Wifey and I worked most of the weekend in the yard which is our tradition each Labor Day. This day is one where vacations have been taken and are over. Parents are ready to send their kids to school. The weather begins to cool. The days become shorter.
Whatever the reason labor has really been dishonored these past few years all due to the economy. Unions busted. Collective bargaining agreements stepped on. Workers furloughed. American labor outsourced to foreign countries. American manufacturers relocating their plants to countries where labor is cheap. Made in America labels have been traded for Made in China. It's nearly impossible to find goods made in America. No wonder the unemployment rate is high and climbing with every month.
We really don't honor labor as a country. I do think that this holiday should be renamed, don't you?
Happy whatever you want to call it day.......
3 comments:
We don´t have that here...so enjoy as much as you can! :-)
Hard to believe, but I often tell people that the US is the world's biggest manufacturer. Unfortunately, that fact is expected to expire within several years.
Evalinn - we have and we do!
Max: I think you're referring to all the bullshit that's manufactured in the US - we remain the largest manufacturer of that!
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