Labor Day- that is the  first Monday in September.

Labor Day used to signify that school was about to start- tomorrow!  But, that calendar is no longer in vogue.  Some schools started last week and some even began two weeks ago. Others won’t start for yet a few more days.   But, it still is the harbinger of summer’s end for most of us.  (Yes, I know that Autumn begins on 23 September [it used to be on 21 September], but the pools close today…)

The very first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City way back in  1882, some 141 years ago.  Thankfully, Labor Day is still a national holiday.  And, it looks like- despite the sentiments of a certain party- folks are beginning to realize how important unions really are for the health and safety of many workers.

(You might find it interesting that the State of New York wasn’t the first state to make it a state holiday.  Nope- they dawdled passing the bill, so Oregon earned that honor.)

To be honest, we really don’t have a clue whose conceived the idea of a Labor Day.  Some say it was Peter McGuire (the co-founder of the American Federation of Labor- the AFL in the AFL-CIO), but a careful analysis indicates it probably was his homonym- Matthew Maguire (of the Machinists Union) who should be honored fir birthing the concept.

Over the course of my life, I have been labor and I have been the “man”. (To be honest, I spent a lot more time in my life as the “man”, but, hopefully, I have always been the enlightened version of a boss.) I’ve written before about my first real job– working in a dry cleaning store… But, I was only “labor” in that situation for about a year- I had become assistant manager of the establishment just as that first year ended.

And, then I worked as a waiter for a catering hall.  That position was really was a union gig. (But, most of us workers were not terribly cognizant of- or embedded to- union membership.) After a few years (I think it was three), I became shop steward (Local 923) and eventually an officer (Treasurer) of the union.  That was truly short-lived, though, because I became part of the management of that very same catering hall soon thereafter. I resigned that officer position almost immediately upon my election.

As an employer over the decades, I never paid anyone the minimum wage. There were a few reasons for that. For starters, most folks can’t make ends meet getting paid that little. (I do admit that it was easier to do so some 35 years ago, but…)

I also never hired the “just adequate”, but searched for those with a little bit more.  That quest matches one of my eMail signatures:

The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is just that little bit “extra”. Let’s aim for the extraordinary!.

And, as an employer, I always made sure our firm shared its profits with our employees- at least, with those that stuck around with us for at least 18 months.

Given the state of the economy- in the US and around the world; given the way firms don’t truly value the efforts of their employees who make the products or deliver the services that generate the revenue for that firm; and given the way corporate executives extract 350X to 500X the average wages they pay their staff for their own compensation- I personally find it pretty hard to believe that Corporate America truly accepts the concept of “Labor” Day.

But, there are inklings that labor is realizing that it must exercise its power.  There are unionization drives at Starbucks, Amazon, Trader Joes,  Chipotle, university graduate assistants, among other shops.  The UPS union just came to a terrific contract.

Since the pandemic- where front line workers risked their lives without receiving better pay or even personal protective equipment from their employers- unionizing drives rose 58% this year. compared to the same period of last year.  (Note- now that the shortage of employees is abating, I fear there will be substantial backsliding…)

Workers are frustrated and angry over income inequality and the inability of wages to keep up with costs.  (Until recently, after-inflation wages were static since 1973 for the typical employee. That’s despite the fact that Wall Street and Corporate Profits have soared- and while employee productivity hit record highs.)

There’s also the recognition that young Americans will fare far worse financially than their parents.  So,  instead of opting for more expensive graduate education (which leaves them in debt and not at higher relative economic prosperity than their parents)- the union route suggests itself as a better path to improved working conditions and better pay.  Moreover, the low unemployment rates and sky high job openings means that union drives won’t lead to firing episodes or the cloture of their workplaces.

Finally,  Gallup has just published that union support is now a strong belief for more than 70% of Americans- the highest level since 1965.

Union membership ranges from over 20% in Hawaii and New York down to 1.7% in South Carolina.

Now, we just need to augment the membership above the 12% of all workers.

 

(We will continue our discussion about labor tomorrow…)