Labor Day

[mrzed]

Greetings, Y'all.

Happy Labor Day.  Enjoy the day off for those of you not working in the service or emergency fields.   Thanks for working for those who are covering on this holiday.

Sorry for you who work in retail and have to work on what should be a holiday.  I don't shop on Federal Holidays. I think it's wrong!  The stores should be closed, too! Personal opinion.

Dan

[buddha]

I agree but I suspect that the big muckety-mucks would make a few million $ less if they allowed their stores to close on ALL the holidays. C'mon man, even rich people gotta eat.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Odd note on NPR's morning show this morning Garrison Keillor's piece noted that labor day was passed in response to a labor dispute with Pullman, and that Grover Cleveland essentially made peace by having it declared a holiday.  The amazing fact was that just over 7% of the private sector work force is currently in a union.  Unions seem to be of passing importance in the US. 

[buddha]

Unions seem to be of passing importance in the US. 

I agree, and for what it's worth the day will come when we will regret that. Amazing how certain political entities seem to have convinced the public that the unions are the big problem, not the CEOs who make 300 times what the average worker makes.
But then I'm an old union organizer.

[Mikekoz13]

Unions seem to be of passing importance in the US.  

I agree, and for what it's worth the day will come when we will regret that. Amazing how certain political entities seem to have convinced the public that the unions are the big problem, not the CEOs who make 300 times what the average worker makes.
But then I'm an old union organizer.

My opinion..... the unions have done it to themselves with some of the nonsense they have pulled over the years. I think they were definetly needed at one time and will probably be needed again in the future... but in a much different form. Look at the latest rhetoric from the head of the Teamsters..... what a dumb ass.

[Laser Man]

I think a healthy economy needs a good balance between management and labor.  Unions are part of that equation.  There was a very good article in yesterday's New York Times that showed statistics on how the U.S. economy grew at a faster rate when this balance existed. 

Yes, some union leaders make dumb ass comments, but some CEOs do the same and also make dumb ass decisions that put jobs and companies in jeopardy.  I have no problem with people like Steve Jobs, Michael Dell and Richard Branson making huge amounts of money.  They built companies and industries.  I do have a problem with many CEOs who simply inherit a going concern, hold the seat for several years, and leave as multi-millionaires without having done much more than keep the place going. 

And by the way - I'm part of management and work for a heavily unionized company.

Happy Labor Day!   

[tomgallagher]

Back in the day when people were made to work 6.5 days a week and worked 12 hour days in order to make a living wage (and this included children as young as 10 years old) it was decided by groups of men that enough was enough. My people come from the coal mines of eastern Pennsylvania so I know whereof I speak. Out of all these struggles came the Great Middle Class. So if we all want to go back to the good old days, God forbid, we just have to stand around and do nothing and let them destroy the unions.