Good morning,
Happy Labor Day and the unofficial end to the Summer. The Summer of course will end at the equinox, on September 22nd. But most kids are either in school or heading back soon, Summer travel is over, the football season is in full swing, and many companies are encouraging their employees back to work. Fall is here, despite the heat wave here in Southern California!
LABOR DAY’S ORIGIN
President Grover Cleveland declared the national holiday in 1894. It was declared as much for political expediency as for honoring labor. It came on the heels of the government putting down the Pullman railway strike in the Midwest. Cleveland wanted to gain favor with the working class and Labor Day came into being.
THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY
While the Labor Day commemoration began with a strike, real action to improve labor conditions came after tragedy.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York. I had noted that it was the type of place where my parents and their parents lived in the early-twentieth century. The Lower East Side was a conglomeration of immigrant Italians, Irish and Jews. Many of the women worked was in the garment industry. One of the many garment factories in the area was The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village.
On March 25, 1911, 146 garment workers died (most of them women and girls) when a fire broke out and there was no escape. The owners of the factory had locked the doors and the stairwells, in order to prevent workers from taking breaks and to prevent theft. This apparently was not an isolated example, as factory owners of the time typically exercised great control over their employees, with minimal workplace protections. When the fire came, pandemonium ensued. Many of the garment workers died from fire and smoke inhalation, while locked inside and unable to escape. A significant number jumped to their death. Most were Italian and Jewish immigrants, whose ages ranged from 14 to 43.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was one of the most significant industrial disasters in U.S. history. In its aftermath, new safety standards were established and unions like the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (the “ILGWU”) gained prominence.
Who remembers the ILGWU theme song from the 1980s TV ads? The song begins 18 seconds in. It is from another era…
“Look for the union label, when you are buying a coat, dress or blouse…”
THE GOALS OF LABOR UNIONS
“And what have our unions done? What do they aim to do? To improve the standard of life, to uproot ignorance and foster education, to instill character, manhood and independent spirit among our people; to bring about a recognition of the interdependence of man upon his fellow man. We aim to establish a normal work-day, to take the children from the factory and workshop and give them the opportunity of the school and the play-ground. In a word, our unions strive to lighten toil, educate their members, make their homes more cheerful, and in every way contribute an earnest effort toward making life the better worth living.”
-- Samuel Gompers, "Gompers Speaks for Labor." McClure's Magazine, (February 1912)
LABOR IN THE US AND ABROAD
There is little doubt that labor organizing has done much for ensuring safer work conditions. There is no more child labor, employees are entitled to overtime pay, benefits, and civilized working hours. One can debate some of the efficacy of certain unions and the political activities of labor these days, but one cannot question their enduring accomplishments.
The other day I needed a new pair of sneakers. When I examined the options on-line, I discovered I could purchase New Balance sneakers for less than $20 more than similar shoes made in China. Since a 20% increase in cost is something I can afford, I figured, “why not?” After all, I know that the people who produced the shoe are protected by American labor protections, safety precautions, minimum compensation, appropriate health and retirement benefits, and work hour limitations. And nobody under-age worked under unacceptable conditions making my shoes.
Then I started looking at the labels on my various garments, including baseball hats. While some of my clothes come from Italy and some comes from Turkey, there are a lot that come from China. And I wonder just why this is the case. The answer, of course, is manufacturers trying to get to the lowest cost of production. Given the human rights violations and other atrocities of the Chinese government, why do we so willingly purchase so much from them? And why do we seem so willing to accept the working conditions and compensation in other countries when we would never condone such practices here?
THE INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD AND GRANDPA EDDIE
Whenever I think about the labor movement, I am reminded of how my grandfather became a “member” of the socialist IWW. It is particularly ironic since he was a Republican most of his life and at one point was an informant for the FBI. But that’s another story.
My grandfather was a terrible stutterer in his youth. Sometimes he could speak only if he sang what he wanted to say. He learned many songs from various sources, collecting lyrics and sheet music throughout his life. He liked nothing better than to sing, preferably with others.
Once, when he was riding the rails in the 1920s, he was taken to an IWW meeting and was given a song book. Since he so liked singing, he kept the book. When it was uncovered by people he was with, he was branded a radical and was shunned by his friends.
I suspect he would be better off in some places in modern times. In some states, the song book would have been banned and he would have been safe!
ERRATUM
That was Joshua Bell playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Daniel Bell is the sociologist…
Have a great Labor Day,
Glenn
Hey Glenn: The underlying incentive for increasing trade relations with a country like China (in a geopolitical sense) is to expose them to the outside world in ways that would not otherwise happen, and through that exposure, influence their populations to absorb some of our values. That through that process, working conditions would improve, freedom of expression would proliferate, etc. The naive part of that is to think that our open society and free wheeling ways would overcome the ability of an authoritarian regime to totally stifle that movement. It was intended as a trap for them, but with the reliance of Western corporate interests on that trade, it was us who became trapped…for the time being.