This goes out to all my friends who had to work on the day of the year everyone should have off.
A testament to the economic and social advances of the laborer, Labor Day has been celebrated by everyone who can afford to take the day off for more than a century. Legislation began in Oregon in 1885 and quickly spread to other states around the union, eventually culminating with a federal law and a parade in 1909. One hundred years later it is celebrated by a speech by Obama and two of my roommates not getting the day off.
I also can't go to the bank today. And the buses run on the holiday schedule, which is basically never.
President Obama gave a labor day speech today. Per usual, he looked great and wore no tie. He spoke of the advancement of the labor movement, about the change to the 40 hour work week and the 8 hour day (1937). The introduction of the minimum wage (1930s), family leave and Social Security (1935).
The last major, and mention-able, advancement in the labor movement was in 1937. Though minimum wage has inched up to just about able support an austere, bargain hunting family and people now covet a 40 hour work week, there hasn't been much done to honor the laborer besides giving them this additional day off.
Also, this year with 9.1% of the country being unemployed, millions will not notice that labor day even happened because labor day, and every other Monday, is a celebration of how America does such a fine job of importing their goods that people don't have to go to work any day.
Contemporary Ways to Honor the Laborer:
With the current celebration seeming a touch out of date, I had some ideas of my own.
We should celebrate labor day not by closing the bank, but by sending all the people who normally don't work (retirees, children, soccer moms, etc) to work at Radio Shack and the bank and give all the people who usually do work a chance to run their errands during a week day when establishments less crowded.
Or, maybe on labor day,everyone who has a job also gets a free breakfast at McDonalds and discount tickets to Wild Waves (or any other local six flags). Maybe it could just be laborer day at Wild Waves.
That might be nice, a trip to the water park to thank people for working hard to, especially in Washington State, just lose a higher percent of their income to taxes while their supervisors, who have a better job anyway, can use labor day to enjoy all the extra income they get to keep because their tax bracket is higher. They can send their kids to the water park any day they want to, some of them every day, should it be desired.
Or maybe we could make labor day an income equality event and have one day where the average laborer could experience the grandeur of what it is like to have expendable income and what it is like to not have to worry about money for a minute.
Maybe labor day should be a day that everyone who has a job but it doesn't offer insurance gets to go to the doctor. You can bring your spouse/child for half price and maybe they can get the glasses they have been needing for more than a year.
Those would be ways to actually thank the laborer, help them advance and not strip them of dignity as they have to explain that, though they spend their day toiling, their children can't get new clothes for this school year because there just isn't enough money. Their hours got cut at work because maintaining profit margins is more important than their life and the kids of the "job creators" still have a college fund. Maybe you could close some of the corporate tax loopholes and change some of the laws that have eliminated the need for large firms to actually compete and allow them to steamroll their competition while not paying any taxes.
At least they don't have parades anymore so the roads can at least stay open, unlike the Post Office.
Bottom Line: To honor a laborer, quit making them feel like shitty the other 364 days a year.
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