(This post appeared
originally in this space on August 31, 2011. It was re-purposed and presented
again September 3, 2014. Today,
September 7, 2016, it has been edited and updated to reflect the most recent
unemployment data.)
Monday was Labor Day. At
its core, According to the U.S. Department
of Labor, Labor Day in the United States was
designed to commemorate the creation of the labor movement; dedicated to the
social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday
focuses on contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well
being of our country.
First observed in September
1882, the event has always been observed on the first Monday of the
month. Initiated by the Central Labor
Union of New York, the celebration became a federal holiday
in 1894.
In addition to its
formal structure and purpose, Labor Day has a number of symbolic
associations. It is considered:
·
The
unofficial “End of Summer”
·
The
last 3-Day warm
weather weekend for vacationers
·
By High Society standards, the last
day for which it is appropriate for women to wear white
·
The conventional kick-off
of hard core political campaign season (which this year includes a Presidential
Election)
·
Back–to-School shopping
On the formal side,
while the Labor Department’s blurb omits any reference to it, Labor
Day also validates and recognizes an often controversial mechanism that
frequently divides American opinion; the labor union.
Scorned by many who fancy themselves as Free Enterprise
Capitalists, unions
and their members have not only been actively involved historically, in debates
that framed public policy for American workers, they have won or forced
hard-earned concessions that in the shimmering glow of reflective perspective,
must be considered to have fundamentally altered the playing field (known as
the workplace), including:
·
Pensions
·
Health
Care Benefits
·
Paid
Vacations
·
Equal
Pay to women
·
The
Development of Child Labor Laws
·
The
5-Day Work Week
·
The
40-Hour Work Week
·
The 8-Hour Work Day
·
Worker’s
Compensation benefits
·
Female
Flight Attendants permitted to marry
These and many other
important cherished and effective employee rights are attributable to the
efforts of the American Labor
Movement. But, this is not an ode to Labor Unions.
Unions also have downsides. They create or contribute to:
·
The potential
for strikes
·
Additional
costs to all employees
(membership dues; whether a member or not)
·
Loss
of individuality (ability to
represent one’s self in a grievance)
·
Subject to fines
& discipline by the Union
·
Lack
of promotions
·
Burdensome salary demands (relative to the
market)
·
Loss
of profits (and/or pay) due to
strike
·
Inefficient
& ineffective contracts
·
Increased
unemployment due to failure to
reach agreement w/management
The first Labor
Day celebration was led by a Labor Union. The history of the Day
has been linked, inextricably, with Labor organizations, ever since. But
if it is the American Worker the Day was intended to commemorate,
Labor Day 2011 was set in an auspicious
and trenchant
backdrop:
·
The Unemployment
Rate in the U.S. was reported to be 9.1% in July
2011
·
The economy added
only 117,000 jobs in July (154,000 in the private sector, -37,000
government jobs lost); better than expected, but still a dismally low number
·
Businesses are
stockpiling $2 trillion in cash
Three years hence,
the picture, thankfully, was much improved:
·
The Unemployment
Rate in the U.S. was reported to be 6.2% in July
2014
·
The economy added 209,000
jobs in July 2014
·
(August 2014
employment data will be released the first Friday in September)
In 2011, President Obama,
announced after the Debt Ceiling
Deal on August 2nd, that he would
present a jobs proposal for Congress to consider, and was set to do so,
after Labor Day, (on September 8th). The proposal included a
combination of tax cuts, spending on infrastructure, and measures designed to
assist the long-term unemployed, while bolstering certain sectors of the
economy. This potion sounds eerily similar to the ideas Democrats
proposed when negotiating the Debt Deal.
Republicans
were lined up to oppose the plan, suggesting instead, among other things, a Balanced Budget
Amendment; a balm the GOP/Tea Party also
suggested during the Debt Deal negotiation. In short, there was
little expectation for significant movement, or the adoption of sweeping
legislation to address the lack of jobs in America…and there wasn’t. What
we had instead was, déjà vu…all
over, again! Then, I was compelled to ask, “Labor Day: Where Is The
Celebration?” Fast forward three years, and the truth is the labor dynamics
in this country have improved appreciably. However, our country is still beset
by challenges.
Each day we are
faced with a series of old, and it seems developing challenges abroad. Syrian,
Iraq, the Ukraine, Russia, North Korea, China, Somalia, are all global hot
spots, just to name a few. Then of course, there is the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and the burgeoning by ISIS/ISIL, also known as the Islamic State. And
oh yeah, we are still winding down in Afghanistan.
In the August 2016 Jobs Report, issued September 2, 2016, the nation’s Job’s Report has continued to improve:
· The Unemployment Rate in the U.S. was reported at 4.9%
· The economy added 151,000 jobs in August 2016
· Paychecks grew 2.4% compared to a year ago
August job growth is historically volatile, and is the slowest month for job growth since the Reports have been published. The increase in jobs was notable, but not as substantial as the 275,000 in July. While the number was disappointing, it was not surprising, given the trend for the month of August. Moreover, the number more than doubles the 5-year average for the month of August, which is 71,000. It is also important to add, the Unemployment Rate remained below 5%.
Unlike in 2011, in 2014 and again Monday, in my opinion, Labor Day brought us more of a day of respite and reflection in honor of our
country’s Labor Movement. On top of all that don’t forget, as the sixth bullet
from the top advises, the conventional
kick-off of the hard-core political campaign season is upon us. The General
Election is just 62 days away, and with it, the selection of our next
President in nine weeks from yesterday. By all means be sure to exercise your
franchise; vote.
It’s “Labor Day –
Three Years Later, Actually Five Years Now," and while we’ve got plenty of
issues to temper our celebration, we should indeed celebrate America's phenomenal Labor Movement. I’m done; holla back!
Read my blog
anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com.
Find a new post each Wednesday.
To subscribe,
click on Follow in the bottom right hand corner of my Home
Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com;
enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign
me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed
to your in-box.
Consult the links below for more detailed
information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment