There’s something about Labor Day which has always bothered me. Perhaps it’s the onset of fall and the ending of the summer season that I enjoy most, not to mention the close of the Shorebirds season, but our celebration of the American worker seems too tied in to glorifying the unions and less to honoring those who both create the jobs by opening the business which employ most Americans and those who had the foresight to invest in these dreams. After all, had Henry Ford not enticed investors to believe in his idea we wouldn’t be driving our Escapes, Crown Vics, or F-150s that are primarily built by UAW members.
It could simply be my upbringing, too. Three years ago I wrote:
I guess some of the issue I have with unions comes from my upbringing. I was raised in a Teamster household but really there wasn’t all that much to show for it. My dad was (and is) a hard worker but people who did nothing made the same amount of money, and that never appealed to the side of me that desires fairness and justice in life. And I’ve heard too many anecdotes of union shops intentionally slowing down production so their quota wouldn’t be increased. It’s sort of the same thinking as the governmental agency spending big money on office supplies and the like at the end of the fiscal year so they make sure they spend their full budget and not have it cut.
Also, to me it was quite sad to see the streets of downtown Toledo full of people and politicans for the annual Labor Day parade when the annual Memorial Day parade was shunted to the Saturday before and was lucky to have a couple thousand watching. Yes, Toledo is a union-dominated city but still I felt their priorities were way out of whack.
Certainly today the unionistas of Toledo are out driving their trucks and their equipment festooned with the paraphernaila of Democratic politicians – they even get a visit from both Vice-President Biden and Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today. But closer to home we even see that same dichotomy because while Brian Murphy is touring the Shore today both Bob Ehrlich and Martin O’Malley are marching in Labor Day parades. (Obviously Maryland is a less hardline state; perhaps it’s because more union members come from the ranks of government employees compared to private-sector workers. My bet is most of the union participants will still be wearing the O’Malley green.)
Yet we sometimes fail to remember that without employers we would have no employees, and for many of those employers today is just another day of work to keep their businesses afloat during trying economic times. The relationship works both ways, and while workers create these shop owners invest time and money in the hopes of supporting their own families. And while you hear about the fat-cat CEOs who make millions, the vast majority of business owners are only among the middle class. We forget they have mortgages to pay and kids to send through college, and they scrimp and save like the employees do. Many pay themselves last so their employees don’t go without during tough times.
Therefore, it’s in our best interest to enjoy the day off if you have it, but remember that there are those working so you can enjoy the holiday. Perhaps the labor and toil of these job creators today will pay off in better opportunities for you or your family down the road so let’s celebrate them too.
