Labor Day in
Illinois 2013
My
Latin American friend Ernesto swung his new hybrid Escalade into the driveway
the other morning and shook his head disapprovingly at my sign in the front
yard.
“What
is this doing here in open display, my friend?
It makes you both look so…so...very low class.”
Ernesto
was chastising my wife and I for our keeping a red, white, and blue sign that
displayed “Proud Union Home” in front of the house. Ernesto does not live in an area where such
signs would be tolerated, nor would anyone ever see one. There are codes to follow in Ernesto’s gated
compounds, and there are the unspoken taboos.
You
might remember Ernesto from several posts ago, when he disciplined me on the
wrongness of contracts and the rightness of possible Illinois governors:
Tomorrow,
on Labor Day, Ernesto will celebrate with his family and friends, but it is
very likely he will NOT celebrate Labor Day.
Not in the traditional or even the authentic sense. Like the Chicago Tribune, which commemorated
Labor Day a couple of years ago with praiseful editorials about the benefits of
work to the soul and spirit, most of Ernesto’s ilk will avoid the real history. Shun the real significance.
According
to the United States Department of Labor, “the first Monday in September, is a
creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic
achievements of American workers. It
constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to
the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country” (http://www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm).
I
think it’s always rewarding and refreshing for Ernesto to visit my “side” of
town – not for Ernesto, but for myself. I
learn more…
The
origins of Labor Day are obscured by the variety of movements at state levels
to recognize the good work of all of us, and eventually those sentiments
coalesced into a federal observation of a holiday. Even as early as 1885, various municipal
ordinances were being written to celebrate workers’ contributions. Oregon was actually the first state to pass a
law of such recognition in 1887; however, by 1894 nearly two dozen other states
had adopted similar laws recognizing a day to honor workers. By 1909, the Sunday before the Labor Day
Monday was reserved nationally as Labor Sunday, dedicated to the spiritual and
educational aspects of the labor movement.
Many argue about the actual individual
responsible for the first Labor Day observance, but make no mistake about it:
it was a union member or union official.
Some consider one Matthew McGuire the founder of the holiday across the
river in New Jersey, while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in
New York. Matthew was a machinist and member of Local 244 (International Assoc.
of Machinists).
Others
ascribe the incentive for the holiday to a Peter McGuire, general secretary of
the Brotherhood of Carpenters and later co-founder of the American Federation
of Labor. I favor Peter only because of
his supposed words defending such a holiday to honor all those “who from rude nature have delved and
carved all the grandeur we behold.”
Ernesto
couldn’t have said it better. Actually,
Ernesto would never have said it.
The
first proposals of the holiday outlined a basic form for the observance and
celebration, and remnants of that festivity are still observed in many towns
and villages. Parades were considered
the first order of business, followed by drinking and barbecues. Children danced their last moments of summer
freedom, and neighbors gathered to share a respite from the hard work of
building a nation, day-by-day and brick-by-brick. Of course, it was also a jamboree tailor-made
for lengthy speeches by politicians seeking labor backing. That is, the non-union opportunists.
Have
a wonderful celebration of Labor Day.
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