Seed: What Has To Do With Labor Day
Growing up, I always thought of Labor Day as a dud. Nationally, it is generally regarded as ‘the end of summer’. In popular parlance you have Rod Stewart singing, “It’s late September and I really should be back in school,”The Happenings' “See you in September, when the summer’s through,” and Steely Dan’s “My Old School.” But in Oklahoma, we already had nearly a month of school under our belts. By the time Rod left Maggie May, we were looking at nine-weeks-tests. Or as my dad always said, school ran from ”after planting ‘til before harvest”, harkening back to the days of good ol’ child labor.
Yesterday, Super Giant Killer made up a research plan for herself. She was curious about Labor Day so at the top of a page she wrote “What Has To Do With Labor Day”. Then she listed four questions she wanted answered:
1. How was it made?
2. Why is it called Labor Day?
3. Was anyone hurt? Did they get ‘get well’ cards?
4. How many Labor Day museums are there?
After I got over the combined shock and pride that she already understood basic research methods without being taught; I thought, “Those are some damn good questions.” I realized that I couldn’t really answer them that well.
I know historically why we have Labor Day, but we seem so far removed from scruffy guys in ill-fitting clothes marching with picket signs today that it’s hard to let it soak in. For one thing we don’t actually make anything in this country anymore. That’s not some redneck reactionary statement from the 80s when we made the great shift from the industrial economy. In those days you’d hear stuff like, “Yeah, they built the Pittsburgh subway system out of Japanese steel!” I didn’t even know Pittsburgh had a subway system. Of course, I know that there are still a handful of light industrial plants around, but it’s not like it was a hundred years ago. And if unsafe mines didn’t collapse every five years or so, you’d be hard-pressed to remember that we even still mined coal. Likewise, I can’t name one person I know who is or was ever in a union. I saw Norma Rae back in 1979, though. I’m not even going to bring up Samuel Gompers.
The prevailing opinion among we climate-controlled sheep is that we don’t need unions anymore; all the problems of exploitation have been solved. Really? I should think the increasing numbers of temps, adjunct professors, and call center folks would have something to say about that. Obviously, I’m not denigrating the work these people do, but these workforce developments carve the soul out work. When it comes down to it, we work because we want to. Fear of starvation is rarely in the front of our minds. Whether we acknowledge it or not, most of us work for self-actualization.
And don’t overlook camaraderie. Soldiers often remark that they fight and kill for their buddies not for Democracy or against Evil. You might sign up for that, but when the bullets whiz past, you pull that trigger because you don’t want to let your buddies down. I have to say that’s true for me. I’m self-motivated to take pride in my work, but truth is I spend more time with my co-workers than my family and a lot of what motivates me is not letting down the team. Temps, adjuncts, and prairiedoggers aren’t allowed that privilege – camaraderie leads to unions and unions lead to, well we won’t go there.
Anyway, despite my frustration with things like Wal-mart union-busting over here while opening a store for the exclusive use of the union lovin’ Communist Party in China, I’m going to do as little as possible this weekend. It’s the least I can do for Woody Guthrie.
So for you all, “What Has To Do With Labor Day?”
posted by St. Fiacre @ 2:00 PM,
1 Comments:
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At Friday, September 15, 2006 1:48:00 PM,
said...
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Well, I'm the granddaughter to some of the men who faught for the rights we as workers (they as laborers)come to expect. You know the 40 hour work week. Safe working conditions. Child labor laws. And yes Pittsburgh actually has a subway. Many a summer I rode that along with the street cars that still run or atleast as of the early 1990s. I once want a specific delicacy. The grocery store I was at didn't have it. I was informed that another store had it but I better not go because they were on strike. "This is a Union town". Said with great pride. Alas, Labor day means so much more for me than the average Joe because what is ancient history is just recent to me. My grandfather would not allow my father to join the National Guard. Reason? He didn't want to have to look down the barrrel of a rifle and see his son's face. It's unfortunate that the government has done such a great job at demonizing the labor unions (alright some of them helped like the teamsters). Now we are back where our great grandparents started. The worker today has no rights. You work at the pleasure of your employer. I know that my grandfather's are turning over in their graves knowing that all the risks and the blood shed went for nothing.
pastgrace
