Labor Day Special
A couple of times, on the radio, I heard that
Labor Day is about honoring people who do work (generally meaning
non-intellectual work, I suspect, because they are generally demeaned
most other days of the year). That is incorrect. It's totally incorrect.
Labor day was initially celebrated by labor unions to promote
organizations of workers. The founder of Labor Day was Matthew Maguire
of the International Association of Machinists. For years, though,
credit was given to Peter McGuire another union leader. Why?
"According to The First Labor Day
Parade, by Ted Watts, Maguire held some political beliefs that
were considered fairly radical for the day and also for Samuel Gompers
and his American Federation of Labor. Allegedly, Gompers did not want
Labor Day to become associated with the sort of 'radical' politics of
Matthew Maguire, so in a 1897 interview, Gompers' close friend Peter J.
McGuire was assigned the credit for the origination of Labor Day."
http://www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm
Worker Centers
This is a pretty good summary of worker
centers and unions, by the asshole Dick Berman. It ignores the history
of the early workers centers, but the overview seems correct, but with
a bias. On Fox News, of course. Knowing this will help explain some
aspects of the AFL-CIO convention reaching out to community
organizations.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/07/labor-unions-look-to-loopholes-for-future-growth/
Also:
Big
labor reaches out to non-union workers
Constructive Dismissal
In the UK, an employer cannot be a mean
person to his or her employees. No insults, sexual harassment,
yelling, etc. It's grounds for a lawsuit. That game show with Donald
Trump would be illegal. However, I suspect that droll English sarcasm
is still legal there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_dismissal
Fuck Burning Man
Anarchist Gringo, a newbie on YouTube, rants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgH1n-YgDO0
Larry Summers and the Secret "End
Game" Memo
The end game was to deregulate banks globally and then use economic
power to force small countries to deregulate and allow big American
banks to invade.
http://www.alternet.org/economy/larry-summers-and-secret-end-game-memo
Other News Links
At the Very Least, Your Days of Eating
Pacific Ocean Fish Are Over
Fast Food Strikes Campaign Tactics Debated
Contractor Status Complicates Workplace
Sexual Harassment
The STEM Crisis Is a Myth
