The Labor Day Special Edition!

The Labor Day Special Edition!

Ah…Labor Day. The crispness in the morning air, the celebration of families and friends with cookouts, boating, and swimming…get it all in before school starts, before the snow flies! But do you know how Labor Day started?

I refer to my old friend Wikipedia:

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City.^[1] It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement 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.

The Pullman Strike was a nationwide conflict between labor unions and railroads that occurred in the United States in 1894. The conflict began in the town of Pullman, Illinois on May 11 when approximately 3,000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company began a wildcat strike in response to recent reductions in wages, bringing traffic west of Chicago to a halt. President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to Chicago to end the strike.

The strike was broken up by United States Marshals and some 12,000 United States Army troops, commanded by Nelson Miles, sent in by President Grover Cleveland on the premise that the strike interfered with the delivery of U.S. Mail, ignored a federal injunction and represented a threat to public safety. The arrival of the military and subsequent deaths of workers led to further outbreaks of violence. During the course of the strike, 13 strikers were killed and 57 were wounded. An estimated 6,000 rail workers did $340,000 worth of property damage (about $8,818,000 adjusted for inflation to 2010).

So yeah. As usual we Americans are celebrating a holiday that really should be a ‘memorial’ day. The death of 13 people in 1894 has somehow spun into a three day celebration of food and fun.

I like to think of Labor Day as the celebration of all the working folk who need this day to reflect on themselves for the fine, fine job they do during the year:

To the Dunkin’ Donuts clerk in Marlboro Mass: Asked for a medium hot coffee with just cream…asked “Would you like a straw?”

To the McDonalds employee in Anytown USA, who cannot count back change unless the machine prompts them.

To the Walmart employee in Cromwell Ct, who if she just crack a smile, remove the scowl, and stop being such a cranky butt – customers may be nicer to her and she may just like her job a little more.

To the clerk at your local convenient store, look I’m sorry it’s not convenient for you right now that I am here disturbing your phone call, text message, or whatever you are doing.. please just cash me out!

I salute you all!!! Happy Labor Day!