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Labor In America- Who Do We Want To Be? – LaborPress
As most of you are probably aware, May is Labor History Month. Our roots, as America’s workers, are explored from the birth of “Mother” Jones in 1830, to that first May Day march of 1886, followed by the tragic Haymarket bombing. Miners, teachers, machinists, and railway workers all celebrate significant anniversaries in the month of May, and if you don’t know the particulars of all their circumstances, I urge you to pick up a reliable book (I recommend There is Power in a Union by Philip Dray) and get the facts on each of them. But today is not a history lesson. Neither is it a maudlin and romanticized look at the past that gives us a vicarious thrill from viewing, at a safe distance, some glorified battle, long- since won or lost.
It is, however, a look at two very different happenings that took place at the exact same time in two different cities in America. Each event shows clearly the role that labor plays in building this nation, and yes, making it great- let’s not allow that phrase or concept to be taken away from us. We look today at Chicago and San Francisco and the two different ways they observed the Memorial Day weekend of 1937. In San Francisco, we saw the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, a testament to the engineering genius, craftmanship, and dedication of the American worker. In Chicago, we saw the Memorial Day Massacre, a testament to corporate greed, media suppression, and the cold-blooded killing of lawfully assembled workers. Each event offers us a vision of the America to which we can aspire.
It is, however, a look at two very different happenings that took place at the exact same time in two different cities in America. Each event shows clearly the role that labor plays in building this nation, and yes, making it great- let’s not allow that phrase or concept to be taken away from us. We look today at Chicago and San Francisco and the two different ways they observed the Memorial Day weekend of 1937. In San Francisco, we saw the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, a testament to the engineering genius, craftmanship, and dedication of the American worker. In Chicago, we saw the Memorial Day Massacre, a testament to corporate greed, media suppression, and the cold-blooded killing of lawfully assembled workers. Each event offers us a vision of the America to which we can aspire.
So, why look at these two events in juxtaposition to one another? We do so because it makes clear that in every era we stand at the crossroads deciding who we are as Americans, as workers, as human beings, and we ask ourselves — which America do we want? Do we want to be the type of America that isn’t interested in seeing the newsreel and doesn’t care what the CEO does or doesn’t get away with as long as we see the numbers in our 401ks grow? Do we really not care when workers (as long as it’s not us) get exploited, beaten or murdered as long as cheaper steel lets us buy cheaper cars, so that we have a little left over for a new iPhone? That’s the vision of America that the Gerdlers of this world will always have.
Or do we want that other America, which is so much better and just as easy to attain if approached properly? Do we want the America where we invest in infrastructure, create jobs which grow the economy, and do it all while keeping a watchful eye on the health and safety of the people who are out there doing the work that needs to be done? Do we want to live in a country where profits are to be had at any cost, or do we want our nation to be one that realizes that our most valuable natural resources are our human resources?
Or do we want that other America, which is so much better and just as easy to attain if approached properly? Do we want the America where we invest in infrastructure, create jobs which grow the economy, and do it all while keeping a watchful eye on the health and safety of the people who are out there doing the work that needs to be done? Do we want to live in a country where profits are to be had at any cost, or do we want our nation to be one that realizes that our most valuable natural resources are our human resources?