Beyond Burgers and Beer

As we gathered (at appropriate social distance) for the traditional end of summer, there are reasons to remember that the Labor Day holiday is about more than burgers and beer.  

The growth of the labor movement and the evolution of unions in the late 1800’s were predecessors of the holiday known as Labor Day. A series of strikes and disasters galvanized the labor movement and strengthened the move for equality, workers’ rights and better working conditions.

There were several riots and strikes worth noting:

• The Haymarket Riot in Chicago in 1886. It was part of a national May Day rally that was led primarily by immigrant workers. What began as a peaceful demonstration ended in a riot when someone threw a bomb at police. Eight people died.
• The Pullman Strike, May-July 1894. Rail workers went on strike to protest wage cuts and firing of Union representatives. The Federal Government dispatched troops to Chicago. Ultimately what began as a peaceful protest ended in a riot.  During the strike there was a widespread railroad strike and boycott. As a result rail travel was all but stopped. It was the first time a government injunction was used to break up a strike.
• The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York in 1911. Forty-five workers died when a fire broke out in the factory. Exits were locked, fire escapes were inadequate and there was no reasonable means of egress for the hundreds of immigrant women working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week for $15.00 a week. The owners, Max Blanc and Isaac Harris ultimately reimbursed the families of the victims $75.00. They received $400 for each victim from the insurance company. Despite the devastating fire, sprinklers were not installed. The business partners had twice torched the building for insurance money and they wanted to make sure they had the option to do so again. They were among the worst in how they treated their workers.
• The Ludlow Massacre, 1914. Coal miners in Colorado protested for better wages, shorter hours and better working conditions. The striking miners and their families erected a tent city near the strike site, which allowed them to get out of the company owned town. In April 1914 the Colorado National Guard and the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company guards attacked the tent colony with machine guns and fire setters. Approximately 21 people died. Other skirmishes with law enforcement personnel led Historian Thomas G. Andrews to call this the deadliest strike in the history of the United States.

There were many more strikes in smaller factories scattered around the country.  What they all had in common was that workers demanded safe working conditions, humane hours, fair wages, workers compensation for injuries sustained on the job and vacation time.   

Out of this push for organized labor, union representation emerged as the protection for most factory workers. Labor Day, as a legal holiday began on June 28, 1894, though many states passed Labor Day laws for celebration prior to that.

 There are still workers fighting for basic rights: the right to be paid fairly for a day’s work, access to affordable benefits and more. Companies like Walmart, one of the largest retailers in the United States with owners worth billions of dollars, refuse to provide benefits to their employees. They give their employees just enough hours each week so they do not qualify for benefits. Because they are low wage workers they qualify for food stamps and Medicaid. This means that “We the People” are ultimately underwriting the massive profits of companies like Walmart. Other retailers have followed suit. It is perfectly legal, but it is far from moral or ethical.

Yet, during this pandemic, workers such as these (not the CEO’s making millions) are saving the day. Low wage workers show up and check out our groceries, clean hospital rooms, collect garbage, make our pizzas and sell us our wine and beer. Behind the scenes, truckers, warehouse workers, farmers and countless others do their best to assure the food supply remains intact (despite the fact that some people feel the need to hoard and create shortages).   

Laborers are and always have been the backbone of our country. They are the heart of the middle class and represent the largest segment of our society. In the wake of the pandemic, however, more and more middle class workers are falling into the category of the working poor. The ones we depend on the most are the ones who are treated the worst.

Unions are being undermined by the occupant and his cohort in order to favor big business. Corporate profits are at an all-time high, as reflected in the artificially inflated Stock Market. Workers’ rights and benefits are being eroded at an alarming rate. What we can all do is advocate for workers’ rights and shop where workers are treated well. This requires us to be informed consumers.    

Though Labor Day has passed, let this week be a reminder to thank the essential workers on whom we depend for our daily well-being.