(This post appeared originally in
this space on August 31, 2011. It has
been edited 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
·
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
employment data will be released Friday of this week)
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 (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.
Unlike
in 2011, Monday did, in my opinion, bring 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.
Primaries are right around the corner and the General Election is just 62 days away. By all means be sure to
exercise your franchise; vote.
But,
it’s “Labor day – Three Years Later,” and we’ve got plenty of issues to temper
our celebration. I’m done; holla back!
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