A Call for Mourning – Is Labor Day Dead?

Gaye Levy, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Welcome to Labor Day 2011.  On this, the first Monday of September, we are supposed to be celebrating both the value and dignity of work and the workers themselves.  You remember the workers, don’t you?  They are the hard working men and women who show up for work, day in and day out, and, with loyalty and dedication, work to achieve the goals of their employers, be it in manufacturing, retail, the trades, agriculture or the service industry.

Some would say that the workers have come a long way.  After all, the first Labor Day was really a rally for the adoption of eight-hour work days, five-day work weeks, decent wages and relief from both harsh and dangerous working conditions.

But something has happened along the way.

Big business has bulldozed their way across the land with their dollars and with the influence purchased by those dollars.  They have lined the pocketbooks and the coffers of our politicians and government officials and left small business behind.  The end result?  Hard working men and women no longer have jobs.  Or, if they do, they are putting in long hours without extra compensation or fewer hours with a reduced paycheck.  They live in fear of job loss and this translates into a stress so horrendous that it tears into the fabric of family life.

You see, in my opinion the days of the worker are gone.  With well-paying jobs in short supply and the cost of raising a family dramatically increasing, the working class – the middle class – is fraying and disappearing into oblivion.  Unemployment is rampant and the numbers – reported as 9.1% – are lies since they do not include the underemployed or those that have simply given up.  After all, it is pretty difficult to look for a job if you are living in your car and counting on shelters to deliver your next meal.

This Great Recession of 2011 continues to put pressure on not only the unemployed but also on those that are still working.  Many of the currently employed feel guilty about their status and pretty much shun any outward display of personal abundance, thinking it cruel to the many that have no work, no paycheck, and often no home.

So, as we celebrate this day with picnics, parades, and frivolous activities, I ask you to take a moment to mourn the loss of Labor Day and its true meaning, and to say a silent prayer for the unemployed whose loss of dignity may take decades to recover.