Labor Day

Labor Day in the US is an extremely hypocritical holiday. 

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What I find to be the absolute greatest hypocrisy are Labor day speeches by politicians delivered on Labor Day, itself. When these politicians deliver a speech on Labor Day, one has to pay attention to the fact that they are usually using a podium, a sound system, etc which requires workers, laborers, to set up the equipment, take down the equipment, provide security, clean the area for the speech before and after. 

Sometimes there is food involved. That means laborers have to cook the food, serve the food and, again, clean up afterward. 

Meanwhile, the speech is largely attended by wealthy people, usually major donors. They are the ones being served, doing absolutely no work. These functions generally double as fundraising efforts to ask for money from the ones being served.

Most or all of the workers have no choice in whether they are going to work for this function. They may make additional pay for working on that particular day but in general, most are at the lower end of the pay scale. They will be expected to smile and express how happy and impressed they are because of the pedantic words being delivered. While they are working. Egged on for a response by those they are serving and cleaning up after. 

That is the greatest form of hypocrisy but by no means the only form. 

Most restaurants will be open on Labor Day. My own daughter must work on Labor day. I spent years in restaurants and worked every Labor Day, as far as I can recall. Most retail outlets hold Labor day Sales. In retail and restaurants, workers are generally paid more for working on Labor day but most have no choice in the matter. They are generally at the low end of the pay spectrum and need the money. Meanwhile, they may be threatened with some form of consequence if they do not work, which can include termination. Once again, many of the customers who are not working and attend these sales or go to restaurants are in the upper middle to high income brackets and they are the ones being served. Others may look forward to the sales because they, themselves, are in the lower middle to low income brackets and are there to buy items they may not otherwise be able to afford. 

Because our laws are created to favor the business and upper class, it’s not really possible at this time to force businesses to allow workers the day off if the business makes the decision that it will be open that day. Yet the owners and investors will be taking the day off, on average. Yet I fail to see how we can call this a holiday, especially a holiday meant to recognize workers. 

In spite of the rhetoric of the self-aggrandizing investor/corporate class in this country, they had virtually no hand in building this country. It was Labor, workers who built this country and who keep it running at every single level today. Waiters, waitresses, retail personnel, miners, drivers, construction workers, oil rig workers, plumbers, electricians, janitors, cooks, dishwashers, farmers, ranchers, food processors, dock workers, dentists, mechanics, police, firemen and women, nurses, CNA’s, IT specialists, working doctors, network engineers, programmers, teachers and so many others. 

If you think there is no specific pattern to that list, in one way you’re right. In another way, not so much. The fact is, no organization is necessary because there is a pattern here. That all of these are interdependent. They form cycle upon cycle upon cycle without which this entire system would break down and collapse. Nothing would be built, demolished, repaired, cleaned, designed, printed, written, published, healed, mined, processed, cooked, loaded, delivered, etc. Nothing has, does or will happen without workers. 

Workers are not only the backbone essential to production, production being stated in the classical sense. Workers are the backbone of society. They are society. Workers are the backbone of any properly functioning and healthy economy. If workers suffer, society suffers, the economy suffers. 

The true fact of the matter is that the most nonessential part of our system really is the wealthy business and investor class. Without the extremely wealthy, things would still keep working and the banking system would have no choice but to reorganize around the system which no longer had billionaires. Production at basically all levels would continue. It may look different but it would continue. Because a society would still have needs and demands. 

To put it simply, the extremely wealthy are optional for any society. Workers are not. 

The labor force in this country have become demoralized, beaten down by decades of exploitation from every direction. They have lost their self-esteem, their sense of importance. Some of that is coming back but far too slowly. The official unemployment rate is at an historically low rate. Wages have increased marginally. While inflation, driven by the investor class, seeks to take any of those gains away faster than they came. Just as has happened every time employment has increased, now we see layoffs increasing. This is no coincidence. It is entirely intentional. It is an attempt to put the workers back in their place. Serving the politicians and wealthy donors. 

The workers in this country deserve respect. Not just one day a year but everyday of every year. When I say respect, I do not mean, like so many other “leaders”, some flowery empty rhetoric. When I say respect, I mean living wages, medical care, stable decent housing, not being forced to work multiple jobs, reliable retirement pensions, good education from kindergarten through university, a voice in government, a voice in the workplace. I mean actual respect and recognition of their importance. 

Workers deserve to respect themselves and each other, not be looked down on. Because those who look down on workers, who exploit and threaten workers would not be where they are without workers. You can have all the money in existence but without workers, there would be nothing the money could be used for. 

I have previously expressed my support for unions. This includes the formation of a national union, where existing unions could converge their power in collective bargaining, while still retaining their individual union identities. It would go beyond that and include non-workers, each with an equal voice, because everyone in our society contributes to our society in some way. Will anyone say that stay at home parents do not perform labor? Do they not deserve a voice? This would be funded by the federal government but crafted carefully in such a way that it would not be a means of government control over union members. Instead, it would be a means of giving more power back to the people of this country beyond a ballot booth. A means of negotiation for worker, civil and human rights at the legislative level. 

To me, this is the highest form of respect that I can conceive of and a means of acting toward showing it. If you can think of a better means, I would love to hear it. 

On Labor Day this year, our sitting president will be attending several functions. Which means a lot of labor will go into those events. At least one of these events is being reported as a fundraiser. So, that proves my earlier point. I am certain many other politicians will be engaged in similar functions. 

If I am elected, I find it most likely that I would issue a Labor Day speech. Maybe more than one. However, any public event would be conducted on the Friday evening before the weekend. It would not involve fundraising. On Labor Day itself, I may issue a speech again honoring workers but it would be delivered electronically, so as to avoid requiring workers to conduct labor in service to me. Labor Day should be reserved for the recognition of workers, not a day in which to seek recognition of a president for the office he or she holds. Nor should it be a day which forces workers with no choice to do even more work. I doubt you will hear any other politician or candidate say anything remotely similar.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day. 

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