“Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country,” said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. “All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day…is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.”
Labor Day is about the creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It is a yearly national celebration in tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Sadly, it seems that Labor Day is quickly becoming Memorial Day 2 in America. With rampant outsourcing, H1B and 245i importing, the middle class sell out to China and India perpetuated and energized by a Republican Congress that can’t stop the destruction of the American work force, this is a holiday under attack.
So, please, enjoy Labor Day, your weekday off in celebration of the men and women of the American workforce. Unless weekdays off in search of a third household job is your regular routine, then, sincerely, the best of luck and hang in there.
Insightful as usual. Thanks for reminding me, us youngsters can’t really remember a time when the labor movement in the U.S. was actually viable and blue collar workers were actually viewed as more than a commodity to big business. No snarky comments here.