[Dean's World] Dave Schuler: Labor Day Thoughts

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Posted by Dave Schuler:
Labor Day Thoughts
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1157374410.shtml


   [1]19th c. Labor Day parade 

   Today is, of course, Labor Day, one of the ten federal holidays, it's
   celebrated on the first Monday of September every year, and it's
   nominally a remembrance of a Knights of Labor parade that took place
   in New York on September 5, 1882.

   A long time has passed since those parades of the 19^th century,
   organized labor has reached and passed its zenith. Nearly every year a
   smaller proportion of the U. S. workforce is unionized.

   So, what's the relevance of this holiday today? None? A little? A
   convenient place to stick a federal holiday between Independence Day
   and Columbus Day?

   The picture above is a copy of a lithograph from the fabulous online
   [2]collection of Georgia State University. It portrays in parody a
   parade meant to recall that KoL parade of more than 120 years ago. The
   collection includes editorial cartoons and lithographs of the
   conditions of labor in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

   I've collected some thoughts on labor of the non-organized sort at
   [3]The Glittering Eye.

References

   1. file://localhost/files/david-Labordayparade.jpg
   2. http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/Collections/AV/19cLabor/19clabor01.htm
   3. http://theglitteringeye.com/?p=2307