Labor Day
In any celebration of Labor Day I’m at a slight disadvantage because for a big chunk of my life it was celebrated as May Day where I was living.
It is rather unique, as it is the only holiday I’m aware of that was imported from Canada where it’s spelled Labour Day.
When I was an elementary school student, it marked the end of summer and beginning of school, but it is a rare holiday in the South as there is no tradition of blowing things up in celebration. There is also no tradition of honoring labor in the South, and labor unions are considered communist conspiracies.
Things were different in New York, as it was considered respectable to belong to a union and at various times I belonged to two, and was actually elected treasurer of my AFSCME local.
The largest benefit of belonging to a union is dealing with the employers. The union acts as a buffer and keeps disputes from becoming personal. There is a known and accepted procedure for settling disputes that improves the atmosphere in the workplace because people have to follow the “rules” whether they are managers or workers.
Somewhere along the way people have forgotten that the best way of getting people to work hard for a business is to allow them to benefit from the success of the business. There was a time when corporations and workers were loyal to each other. The workers benefited from increased profits, so they had a reason to work as efficiently as possible. Now, only top managers and investors derive any benefit from success, so workers aren’t “investing” in their employers. Everyone loses.
A point that should be stressed on Labor Day is that if you look at the long list of disastrous business failures the one thing that becomes clear is that they were caused by management – the group that suffered the least. If a few senior managers go to prison, they at least get fed and have a place to sleep, something that is not always true for the workers.
9 comments
http://mikethemadbiologist.com/2013/09/02/your-grandfathers-young-republicans/
I saw that, and it is hard for people to believe, but that once was a real segment of the Republican Party.
there’s an updated version too…
http://s1300.photobucket.com/user/Kagehik/media/LaborPoster_zps60b7c7e9.png.html?sort=3&o=0
Well, there have been a few adjustments to the party platform since Eisenhower 😈
LOL hipparchia & Bryan! 😆
Thanks h! I needed a laugh (and sanity break) right about now! 😀 (Working on major changes to a Business plan is no fun at all!!) 😉 😀
“Well, there have been a few adjustments to the party platform since Eisenhower”
Yeah! Just a few! 😀 (I’m trying to decide what the mix of irony & satire are within that statement.) Not that it matters… I do so love both! 😉 😀
And now that I have been well distracted from work… I’m going to go make a nice fresh ground Jamaican coffee! (Oh! And miracle of miracles!! The SUN is actually shining and not a cloud in sight!) Wahooooo!! I’ll sit outside and drink my coffee and get some needed Vitamin D! A win all around! 😆
Thanks my friends! 😀 And I truly hope you are doing well and feeling good. 🙂
vitamin d and fresh ground Jamaican coffee, that’s a tough combination to beat!
Well, there have been a few adjustments to the party platform since Eisenhower 😈
isn’t that the truth. an interesting read: http://freedmenspatrol.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/the-past-is-a-foreign-country-with-foreign-parties/
Most of the things that today’s Republicans hate most were proposed and passed by Republican Presidents and Congresses. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the Democrats got into power and stayed. There are a lot of issues where the parties have switched sides in the last 60 years.
The sun always feels better after a long period of rainy days, and sunlight is a natural ‘upper’ especially during the winter.
It was nice! 😀 The sun was warm but there was a slight cool breeze. The coffee was great. I can’t afford to buy it now, that was from a stash I got over a year ago. I keep it sealed in a preservative jar (tight sealed lid) in one of those white foamed boxes (they use to preserve fish & some fruit) at the bottom of a dark cupboard so it will last and keep the flavor. 🙂 Good coffee beans are like good wine. Don’t like light and lot’s of temperature change. 🙂 I think this was the first cup in a Month (and it was my Birthday! So I had two!) 😉 😆 I usually use a much cheaper Italian pre-ground coffee, not bad, but definitely not as good! 😀
And yes, the sun and being outside was very nice and refreshing. Then I went and got my Pizza’s! So it was a nice day. 🙂 Just having some leftover Pizza for lunch. 🙂 The owners here where my little apartment is have a big gas BBQ unit and a gas Pizza/bread oven outside. So I use that to heat up the Pizza (just add some olive oil & tomato puree to *freshen* it up a bit, they dry out as they cool down).
I think I will spoil myself and make another cup of my dwindling supply of good coffee! 🙂
If all goes well with this biz over the next year, I’ll send you both some Jamaican. My wholesale supplier is in CA anyway, so it will be cheaper to get them to send to you than here! I had 3 kg (1kg was free on a promotional special I think I posted about at the time), got about 3/4 kg left, but I gave away about a half a kilo. I’m too generous sometimes! I’m sure you both know about that also. 😉
Thanks guy’s! Stay good. 🙂
Sounds like a good day to me. This time of year here, the sun means hot and humid, but it is nice when sundown comes at 5PM.