Midlands Voices: Unions’ history dedicated to freedoms of workers

[Omaha Steve]

By my good friend John Kretzschmar . Please leave a reply. I'll send John a link.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100906/NEWS0802/709069993

By John Kretzschmar

The writer is director of the William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Labor Day is the only U.S. holiday dedicated to average Americans who work for a living. They sell their intelligence, experience and strength to an employer to earn a living. Their wages are an important component essential to keeping our nation’s economic engine alive.

The U.S. Department of Labor website describes Labor Day as “a creation of the labor movement” and “dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.”

This Labor Day finds Nebraska and the nation facing economic challenges unmatched since the Great Depression. The American dream, where parents believe their hard work means the next generation will be better off, is becoming a distant memory. For that reason, it’s especially important to learn more about the history and importance of labor unions to the employment relationship.

The employer-employee relationship directly and indirectly affects the quality of life of employers and employees alike, often from birth to death. Because work is the primary means by which Americans provide for their families, the history of the “humanization” of the employment relationship should be included in the telling of our nation’s history.

Few people know that our nation’s first Labor Day was actually the Fourth of July! In the first half of the 19th century, American unions chose Independence Day as their day to parade and picnic. To introduce a bit of democracy into the employer-employee relationship, union members made the analogy between the 13 colonies uniting to end the master-servant relationship England enjoyed in North America, and workers’ attempts to unite as one.

Our American form of self-government creates a “social contract” between the citizenry and those in office. This social contract spells out the mutual obligations and expectations for both sides and allows the governed to have an independent voice in decisions that affect their future.

FULL story at link.

[Omaha Steve]

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