Now that people have partially recovered from a full day of BBQing hot dogs and guzzling beer, perhaps some reflection on the history of Labor Day is in order. Let me quote a snippet from Wikipedia:
"The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day
While people may have gripes about unions today, let's not forget where we came from. A hundred years ago, the pendulum was so tilted towards corporations that workers suffered through 7-day, 12-hour work weeks and then had to live in a company town where corporations took their money back. And if you had the audacity to strike, you were at the risk of getting killed by the police, quasi police (company security forces) or even the U.S. military.
When talking to friends, I've previously drawn analogies on current day China's economic situation (super capitalism) to the end of the 19th century United States. But when reading through history in more depth, I must revise my opinion and say China is a bit farther long ... perhaps say 1925 USA.
(Filed in economics, misc)
Labor Day
Posted by Mossy
September 7, 2009 10:27 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day
While people may have gripes about unions today, let's not forget where we came from. A hundred years ago, the pendulum was so tilted towards corporations that workers suffered through 7-day, 12-hour work weeks and then had to live in a company town where corporations took their money back. And if you had the audacity to strike, you were at the risk of getting killed by the police, quasi police (company security forces) or even the U.S. military.
When talking to friends, I've previously drawn analogies on current day China's economic situation (super capitalism) to the end of the 19th century United States. But when reading through history in more depth, I must revise my opinion and say China is a bit farther long ... perhaps say 1925 USA.
(Filed in economics, misc)
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