A national holiday since 1894, Labor Day got a bit of a shaky start. President Grover Cleveland had recently declared the Pullman Strike a national crisis and sent troops to force workers back to their jobs - resulting in two shooting deaths. The strike was over, the organizer jailed, and workers forced to sign a pledge they would never attempt to unionize again. To appease shocked and angry workers throughout the country (and to gain some needed votes) Cleveland pushed the congress to agree to a workers' holiday - and Labor Day was born. September was chosen to draw attention from May Day, the international labor day. Cleveland, by the way, was not re-elected.
For day-laborers and contract workers (a growing number of the employed) Labor Day is a forced day off with no pay. My friend Suna writes about her experience and that of others who, while grateful for employment, are in no way living the dream of the workers who advocated for human rights a hundred years ago. Suna's experience of working hard to support her family and still continually facing job insecurity (and no healthcare) is thoughtful and enlightening.
And writer and farmer Sharon Astyk writes about why we might care about the hardships others face, even when they don't seem to directly affect us or our immediate loved ones. This post about her connection across several generations to an incredible act of courage and compassion makes me want to cry - and cry out against our own hard-heartedness and inability to put ourselves in the shoes of others.
Wow, that is not a very auspicious beginning to a holiday, is it? Thanks for your thoughts, too.
Posted by: Suna | September 08, 2009 at 09:14 AM