When you go back to work tomorrow, consider this: your
workplace will not be locked from the outside. You can leave when you want. You
can go to the bathroom when you need.
To be fair, in 1911 it was illegal to lock employees in
their place of work. That was the year of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, which
killed 146 people, mostly women and children, who could not escape the fire
because the doors were locked from the outside and fire escapes ended several
stories above the street, to prevent employees from sneaking out. Because it
was illegal, the owners of the factory (the “job creators” of their time) were
fined $20. They had insurance, which covered the fine, miniscule even 100 years
ago, and compensated them for employees killed at a rate greater than their
families received.
Because of the fearless work of the International Ladies’Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) committees were formed to look at safety in the
workplace, public opinion was changed, child labor laws were passed and the
American Society of Safety Engineers was formed.
Let me say this again: when you go to work tomorrow, you
will not be locked inside your office or shop. Your children will go back to
school, not to a twelve- hour shift at a factory. And it doesn’t even matter if you yourself are a member of a
union; they’ve improved the workplace for all of us. Things like the eight-hour
day, the five-day week, minimum wage, meal breaks, worker’s compensation, sick days
and employee health insurance would not be available without the work of
unions.
If you work for a paycheck, you’re a member of the labor
force. You deserve Labor Day. You deserve a living wage. You deserve to be
treated fairly.
My mother used to sing this to me. You know, like a lullaby,
only different. Written by Woody Guthrie in 1940, this is a 1963 performance by Pete Seeger.
This Labor Day, remember what unions stand for. Remember
what they’ve done for you. Enjoy your time off.
