What Does Labor Day Mean in the 21st Century - Career Pivot

What Does Labor Day Mean in the 21st Century - Career Pivot Labor Day Copyright: yupiramos / 123RF Stock Photo The post is being published on Labor Day, a United States holiday. Labor Day was created to celebrate the blue collar laborer. It came about when unions were organizing in the 1880s with the purpose of protecting workers’ rights. If you worked in a steel mill during this time, you worked about 84 hours each week. You probably made about $10 for that work. There was a huge divide between the rich and the poor. Hmm…does this sound familiar? Unions were gaining ground. What companies did to break the unions was brutal. In order to gain a deeper understanding, you might want to watch this History Channel video, Andrew Carnegie and the Homestead Strike. Unions continued to grow throughout the 20th century. When companies had to negotiate with the unions, working conditions improvedâ€"but so did costs. Companies solved this problem by moving work offshore. It took a almost a century to for this transition to take full effect, which is that the union laborer is almost extinct. History of Labor Day The History Channel has a great video on the history of Labor Day. The first Labor Day celebration was in 1884 in New York City where there was much discussion about a 40 hour work week. If a worker wanted to participate in the event, they had to take the day off and forfeit their wages. The first legal Labor Day holiday was in 1887 in Oregon. Other states soon followed their lead. Listen to the most recent episode In 1894, there was a railroad workers strike. President Grover Cleveland sent in the equivalent of the national guard to break the strike. Two workers were killed. It was a political disaster and out of this came the first national Labor Day holiday. If you watched the two videos I mentioned, you know that it took either a political disaster or a movement from the masses to make change happen. Corporations were not in the business of doing things that benefited their workers, especially if those things affected their bottom lines. Labor Day in the 21st Century Labor Day has become the last gasp of summer. Though most kids have already gone back to school, it feels like one last summer break. It is no longer a celebration of labor. As I researched Labor Day for this post, I found that there are a lot similarities between the years 1884 and 2016. The divide between rich and poor is large Unions today are quite weak Workers are fighting to organize Since the great recession, many baby boomers have struggled to find work, even as the overall economy has improved. If you are over 60 and unemployed, you really need to look to alternative ways to make money. Is it just me, or are there a lot of similarities between 1884 and 2016 when it comes to workers and workers’ rights? What does Labor Day mean in the 21st century? I would like to hear your thoughts. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...