"Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — 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. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
Today Labor Day is often regarded simply as a day of rest and, unlike the May 1 Labor Day celebrations in most countries, parades, speeches or political demonstrations are rare. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues,, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school. However, of late, schools have begun well before Labor Day, as early as the 24th of July in many urban districts, including Nashville and Atlanta. In addition, Labor Day marks the beginning of the season for the National Football League and NCAA College Football. The NCAA usually plays their first games the weekend of Labor day, with the NFL playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day..." The above from Wikipedia
I have raved and ranted about this many times... Labor Day should be a day to honor the working man. It should be a day to honor and promote labor unions.
I feel the trade labor movement has failed to protect and promote the real Labor Day. There are fewer and fewer real union men. Back a few years ago I was sitting at a table with a bunch of workers, they were in a union, and they were talking about how their contract was up and they might be going out. I was not in their union, or any union at that time, and I told them your not going out...because non of you are real working men..you don't have the balls for it. I said again your NOT union men! Well no one punched my lights out..if they had been real union men one of them would have done it. They did not go out on strike by the way...their union NEVER went out on strike.
Tomorrow is Friday and if school is in in session every union should have programs for school kids in effect at every school in the United States. If school is not started yet then on Tuesday the other schools should have such events.
TV stations should be running over the labor day weekend pro union movies. The union movement should pay for movies. They could run pro union adv to pay for the movies.
I don't know everything that should be done.. but something should be done..
Think of all the cable channels...where in the fuck is The Labor Channel? What do the unions do with membership dues? You can't ear mark part of it to do PR and get the message out.
In big business if the company does not make more profit and if the stock price does not go up the CEO goes out the door. We need the same thing in the trade union movement. If membership does not increase then out the door should go the head of the union and all of his staff.
My father was a union member all is life. He was a union officer the last few years of his life. He got that position by cleaning up a dirty union. I did what I could to help him but I was just a teen. He was the one that had to go to the union meetings and get up and talk and it took real guts.
My mother for a few years was a union member.
I was a union member for years. I was in the boilermakers union and the UAW.
The trade union movement is in such a mess because there are very few men like my father left in the unions. The current "union" men are too busy watching football games on Labor Day and surfing the Internet.
I hope I will not be screaming and crying next Labor Day but I guess I will be...because I don't see any real union men. The movement has been taken over by men in suits with their Black Berry cell phones. They are going to find a very hot spot waiting for them in hell when they die.
St. Peter was a working man and he is going to be checking union cards at the gate and just having a card will not be enough..It will be what did you do with the card.
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