Remembering the Union Workers Out on Strike for this Holiday
Listen to this articleThis morning I read something I wrote five years ago about Labor Day. The labor movement is a nearly invisible shadow of what it was 45 years ago. It begs the question: Why do we continue to celebrate American Labor?
President Joe Biden is a union guy and we can assume his entire administration is pro-union. His Secretary of Labor — our Acting Secretary of Labor — Julie A. Su, wrote a statement for today, explaining why we still celebrate labor.
Ms. Su writes, “On Labor Day, we honor the achievements of workers, while re-committing to the work that remains to build an equitable, empowered economy for all.”
Biden wants to bring the unions, from the roughly 11 % of the work force it is at now, to its 1965 rate of nearly 33% and beyond, we can assume.
It’s easy to become cynical after union membership and real worker compensation decreased since the mid-1970s, most drastically in the 1980s when the GOP made a concerted effort to wipe out labor unions.
Perhaps we (Myself) can start pushing aside the cynicism and look to the future because the number of people aligned with progressives (Democrats) has increased substantially, and these people will vote. It may take some years, but progressives can take control of government at every level in nearly all 50 states and start changing to address global warming and to decrease the pay equity gap through more unions, primarily.
On that note, I give a shoutout to the men and women of SAG/AFTRA, the WGA, UAW, and every other union that is still walking the picket lines on this Labor Day. There are more unions on strike than we have heard about on a consistent basis.
CEO’s now make 399% more than the average workers and that gap is most likely going to increase, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That left-leaning think tank has some recommendations on how to address this problem without damaging the economy. It’s an issue we have been dealing with for more than 40 years.
••• •••• ••••• •••• ••••
It’s another three-day weekend, with barbeques filling the air with the aromas of hamburgers, hot dogs, chickens, shrimp and other seafood; plus vegetables in their marinades. My mouth just got watery as I was thinking about grilling food. Scallops on the barbie …
Say goodbye to summer and if you want to wear white, or a tan suit, after Labor Day, go right ahead. This is America and we are supposed to be all about freedom.
Tim Forkes started as a writer on a small alternative newspaper in Milwaukee called the Crazy Shepherd. Writing about entertainment, he had the opportunity to speak with many people in show business, from the very famous to the people struggling to find an audience. In 1992 Tim moved to San Diego, CA and pursued other interests, but remained a freelance writer. Upon arrival in Southern California he was struck by how the elected government officials and business were so intertwined, far more so than he had witnessed in Wisconsin. His interest in entertainment began to wane and the business of politics took its place. He had always been interested in politics, his mother had been a Democratic Party official in Milwaukee, WI, so he sat down to dinner with many of Wisconsin’s greatest political names of the 20th Century: William Proxmire and Clem Zablocki chief among them. As a Marine Corps veteran, Tim has a great interest in veteran affairs, primarily as they relate to the men and women serving and their families. As far as Tim is concerned, the military-industrial complex has enough support. How the men and women who serve are treated is reprehensible, while in the military and especially once they become veterans. Tim would like to help change that.
