Let's keep Labor in Labor Day
And by that I suggest an appreciation for labor, both the prepared and the casual type. It's become fashionable to disregard the accomplishments of the Labor Movement of the overdue 19th and early 20th centuries, however every unmarried running person these days owes the ones brave ladies and men a remarkable debt. They placed their lives on the line to assure themselves and their descendants a higher existence.
The Andrew Carnegies and Henry Clay Fricks of the world left a great legacy and they accomplished great things. However, it was their immigrant labor force and their refusal to be treated like slaves any longer that left a more lasting and widespread mark on our culture. Labor Day was intended to be a day to commemorate those same, unionized workers. This link, from the US Department of Labor , gives a brief explanation of why today is a US holiday.
The American Labor movement has been controversial since its violent birth well over a century ago. The last 30 years of American politics and economic practice have done a thorough job of demonizing organized labor and its history, but it's a lie. It's a campaign of lies actually and it's been unrelenting. But at the end of the day, Exxon and IBM did not come up with the five-day, 40-hour work week out of the goodness of their hearts. Just about every idea you have and I have about work and life balance came about at the insistence of organized labor. Despite what you might think of the AFL-CIO or the UAW, you're still standing on their shoulders. History works like that.
There was some great literature that came out of that era. If you've never read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, or Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Lives, pick up a copy of either. Or both.
Better yet, pick up a copy of Paul Krause's The Battle for Homestead, 1880-1892. You'll never look at your work life the same way again.
I'll positioned away my Norma Rae routine for now. I'm seeing customers these days, so there's no rest for this American laborer. Whatever you are doing nowadays, I wish it is a laugh.