Molly Ivins: Happy Labor Day (a day late, sorry)

[Dudley_DUright]

Happy Labor Day, comrades. Hail to all who have yet to be outsourced, downsized, zero-budgeted, streamlined, cut back, laid off, globalized or otherwise pre-shrunk. Those of us who are lucky winners in the employment lottery can still enjoy our stagnant wages, disappearing benefits and collapsing pension plans. What, us worry?

Not that I want to start off one of my favorite national holidays on a bummer note, but it's enough to make Joe Hill rise from the dead yet again. One of the handicaps Americans have when it comes to discussing labor is that about 90 percent of us think we're middle class. Upper-class people are quite as likely to self-identify as middle class as are working-class folks. And middle-class folks do not think of themselves as "labor."

How could you be part of labor when you don't wear a hardhat or carry a lunch bucket? When you live in a suburb and own a bass boat, as well as an SUV? When you wear a suit and tie or high heels to work? When you're management, for pity's sake? Because that's what American labor looks like now -- just like you.

And American labor has some serious problems. Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary John Snow observed, "The fruits of strong economic growth are not spreading equally." Yo. Phillip Swagel of the conservative American Enterprise Institute explains: "The gains from the recovery haven't really filtered down. The gains have gone to owners of capital and not to workers." I'd say so myself.

more...

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=19572

Sorry this is a day late, I was rather preoccupied with the Katrina disaster over the weekend.