Enjoying those hamburgers on the grill this Labor Day Weekend?

It is Labor Day Weekend here in the US and I think we should celebrate by understanding the origins of the holiday.

It was made a Federal holiday in 1894 by President Grover Cleveland and passed unanimously by Congress in 6 days. Why such a record breaking time? Fears of general unrest about the deaths of 13 individual workers and the wounding of 57 others by the US Military and Federal Marshals over the Pullman Strike as well as the then questionable Constitutionality of the President sending in Federal forces to break up a strike.

The Pullman Strike was a refusal to move trains pulling Pullman Railcars in sympathy for the workers in the company owned town of Pullman, Illinois who had their wages cut due to the slow down in purchases (a result of the Economic Panic of 1893) yet still had 12 hour workdays and no decrease in rent of their homes in the company owned town. As an aside, you may understand this a little better if you consider the lyrics of Tennessee Ernie Ford's song Sixteen Tons.

Many of the workers that built the Pullman Railcars were members of the American Railway Union, which led to the switch operators refusal to switch the trains, effectively shutting down the entire West Coast traffic. The threat was then made that if any punishment were to come to the switch operators, the entire ARU would walk.

It should be noted that September was chosen to separate the idea that there is a connection to the International Labor Day on May 1 and the writings of Karl Marx. But I should point out Marx's four types of alienation in labor under capitalism:

• Alienation of the worker from his or her species essence as a human being, not a cog in a machine.
  
• Alienation among workers, capitalism reduces labor to a commercial commodity to be traded on the market, rather than a social relationship.
  
• Alienation of the worker from the product, its design and production are appropriated by the capitalist class and escape the worker's control.
  
• Alienation from the act of production itself, that work boils down to an endless sequence of discrete, repetitive, trivial and meaningless motions offering little, if any, intrinsic value.
  

While I do not agree completely with Marx on his political teachings, there is definitely a degree of being correct in those descriptions. Because there is alienation in the workplace between labor and management. And there is alienation between different laborers in how the holiday is celebrated. And there is most certainly a separation between the citizens and the politicians in the US.

Look at the people that have to work the holiday. With the exception of essential services of fire, police and medical care; the majority of those that have to work are the low paid that could not afford the day off without pay. The majority of those that could afford an unpaid day off are the ones that receive it as a paid Holiday.

As I pointed out but didn't specifically state, the ones being honored by the Holiday are the ones that could most likely afford to arm themselves and create the civil unrest that both President Cleveland and the Congress at the time feared could happen. So as you celebrate the unofficial end summer this Labor Day Weekend, take the time to realize that holiday really marks the end of something else: your ability to not communicate and associate with your fellow workers in order to organize an economic (or another type of) revolt against those that wise to control you.

Great post Ahabstar!

A little bit more information for you.

September 6 was chosen instead of May 1 by the government to 'celebrate' labor day and the reason was that across the world as the Labor and Trade Unions were growing more powerful and the strikes and threats were growing more intensive our government had to make a quick decision.

Either they could set Labor Day as the same around the world or keep it separate by making it in September. This way it would help break up the expanding global unified force of Socialism, if the American unions celebrated 4 months after the rest of the world then it would be more difficult for them to create a unified block.

Also your pointing out that lots of poor workers are required to work on what should be their day is quite sickening. My parents were both laborers and they never had labor day off, not in my memory. They had to work that day just like they had to work Christmas Eve too.

It's just sad how far our elite were and are willing to go to keep us peasants from organizing.

[edit on 9/4/2010 by Misoir]

reply to post by Ahabstar


Great post..Well worth showing what the real meaning is...

And our leaders will celebrate with lavish parties across the country..
while being served by the very people this holiday was intended for..

Sickening

I have often wondered how the holiday started. Thanks for posting.

Originally posted by gem_man
I have often wondered how the holiday started. Thanks for posting.

Yes, very few people actually know why it started or what its true purpose is/was.

When we think of Labor Day what do we think of?


The unofficial end of summer
Hot dogs and hamburgers
Day off of work

But how many actually think about what Labor Day truly means. It's a lot like Veterans Day, we congratulate our veterans for protecting, serving and defending us and this great Republic. But how many people actually take time to congratulate or even appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that were put forth by our nations great laborers past and present?

I think we should stop this consumerist style of celebration and thank the ordinary hard working man and woman, they never receive any appreciation or acknowledgement, let them have at least one day a year where they can feel important. They do the back breaking labor and destroy their bodies so that others don't have too.

So from me and hopefully everyone else on ATS, we truly and deeply thank you hard workers for everything that you do.

You don't have to agree with Marx's political teachings, but they do provide us with the best critical analysis of the capitalist system in my opinion.

Great thread though, as a Brit, I never knew what your Labor Day was for, now I do

[edit on 4-9-2010 by woodwardjnr]

Great Post!!!

This is why I keep coming back to this site day after day.

Good quality info one won't find in the daily paper or on the idiot box.

Nice job

S&F

[edit on 4-9-2010 by vermonster]

Click here for more information.

Hamburgers?! I cooked up some babyback ribs, slow and low, while I cleaned the garage, just slow.
Tomorrow I epoxy the floor for that finished look, and I got some great rib-eyes to feed me after I get done with that.
Monday is back to reality day with the aforementioned hamburgers.
But I digress, I was one of those that worked labor day for several years and hated every minute, just the thought of the rest of the country lazing about and grillin' infuriated me, so instead of killing myself with anger, I did the American thing and got better at my job, made myself the best man in my position and VOILA, me and mine started going to the beach for the 3 day weekend with the boss and his family.
Hard work and dedication to the cause, whatever your companies cause may be, don't suck up, get to where you're one of the best at your job, if your boss doesn't get it, another will.

Very interesting and informative! A big S&F from me. As a union member myself, I find it exceedingly ironic that I shall be working on the holiday that was created by the government to help appease the populace after the murder of union workers...

great thread...I always wondered about the true reason for this holiday./.....good for the laborers for shutting that railway down....we are humans not machines and a lot of employers seem to forget that...all it seems like to me is a lot of bean counters and dollar figures that drive the greed....I was late for work one day because my daughter craped her pants and I had to give her a bath before taking her to daycare....my boss told me he didn't care if my daughter was covered in crap from head to toe work starts at 8 o'clock and whatever happens outside of work is my problem....just an example of things employers do that is proof they think of us as machines...and to go and cut someone's pay and not lower their cost of living deserves action like was planned....now people would never come together and do anything like that because of fear of loosing a job and getting blackballed and not able to find a new job...the power has went to the wrong people....

Great information. I remember being taught early on in school about labor day, and how it was a "let's give them a day off once a year" attitude. "They work hard, so they deserve one day off".


Of course, I have it off, too. No complaints here.
I'll have my burger medium rare, please.

reply to post by cepheusdraco


At least your union most likely pays you well for working the holiday. The unfortunate others that do not have a union get the same pay or day off without pay. Not disrespecting you just stating a point. Thank You to all that have to work on this Labor day and every other day to keep this country running. Thank You OP for showing the truth behind this holiday, star & flag for you.

The heavy hand of the task master must have strong hands upon the pick and shovel. Sturdy legs to tote the bail, mark their steady progression by a volley of threats and curses. Loud mouths bark orders from the big house. And if we faulter and stumble, the lash tears our backs. We are planning as we step. We are planning for a new day where we will all be as one. Where no one knows the vile curse. The angry word. The callous nature is no more. Escape is at hand. Be vigalent. Namaste

Originally posted by Misoir
Great post Ahabstar!

.....It's just sad how far our elite were and are willing to go to keep us peasants from organizing.

[edit on 9/4/2010 by Misoir]

Yes, it is. Now we must also be concerned that, with the current facist agenda, we have a growing BigGov move to become the employer as well. Our response must not be "compliance" or what few freedoms we have left will be gone forever. Workers of the world, unite!!!

Thought this was going to be about not eating burgers because they're actually harmful and basically poison.

I was deceived.

Oh well, good thread.

reply to post by Ahabstar



Excellent post........one of those, "I wonder what the origin of _________ is".

There's a TV show in that concept just waiting to happen.

Too funny that the Govt. creates Labor day after killing workers on strike. Such a typical thing for them to do.

Originally posted by SeventhSeal
Thought this was going to be about not eating burgers because they're actually harmful and basically poison.

I was deceived.

Oh well, good thread.

Yep, I was expecting a PETA or Animal Liberation Front piece.

Have a great Holiday all.

reply to post by Ahabstar


Thanks for this history lesson! I never really considered the origins of this holiday. I just always considered it sort of strange that on a day when laborers' efforts were celebrated, me and many other workers were excluded. And that's why, on Labor Day, I don't shop, I gon't go buy a bag of ice to chill our drinks, Or stop at a gas station to put fuel in the tank of my Jeep. I plan ahead. And I always hope, that eventually, others will do what I do, plan ahead, and maybe stores and restaurants will eventually close their doors on Labor Day, so almost everyone can take a special day off from their labors, and just enjoy a day with family and friends.

In the way back times of my youth, on holidays like Labor Day and Indendence Day, not much was open at all. Just like on Sundays and the latter part of Saturdays. Now, though, it's pretty much nonstop shopping opportunities, and the laborers be damned!