“Who are the oppressors? The few: the King, the capitalist, and a handful of other overseers and superintendents. Who are the oppressed? The many: the nations of the earth; the valuable personages; the workers; they that make the bread that the soft-handed and idle eat.”
~ Mark Twain
Labor day was made a federal holiday after the Pullman Strike. It was a national strike of railway workers. The Pullman Strike ended in a bit of tragedy. The President sent the National Guard and US Marshals to end the strike. Death and injury resulted, as well as large amounts of property damage. Eugene V. Debs led the strike. He was eventually incarcerated on a minor charge. It was while in jail that Debs read the works of Karl Marx. Debs became a socialist and ran for President in 1900.
Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most – that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least.
~ Eugene V. Debs
We owe a lot to these organizers, of unions and protests, in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was these brave people who stood up to corporate thuggery and government force. They paved the way for workplace safety standards, fair wages, fair conditions, and many other labor laws that save thousands of lives every year.
While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
~ Eugene V. Debs
Today is Labor Day. Let us not forget what “Labor” means in Labor Day. It means the worker. Labor day is not “Production Day.” It was a national holiday created in support of the labor that keeps society going.
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.
~ Abraham Lincoln
As I have stated recently, many prominent men have stood up for labor in America’s history, as well as the history of the world. Men like H.G. Wells and Mark Twain. Men like Karl Marx. Women like Helen Keller and Susan B. Anthony. Even the creator of the Pledge of Allegiance was a socialist. Even non-socialists and non-communists often stand with labor. Sometimes they exploit the labor, but still make statements that show the true value of labor.
Legislation has been and is still directed towards the protection of wealth, rather than towards the far more important interests of labor on which everything of value to mankind depends.
~ Leland Stanford
I dispersed quotes throughout the post in celebration of Labor Day. To celebrate the Labor. This is not about bickering, or politics. It is about the labor. The labor that produces our food, our clothes, our phones, the computers that we use to go on the interweb.
The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor – not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.
- Albert Einstein, The World As I See It (1949)
On April 20, 1914, the National Guard attacked 1,200 striking coal miners and their families in Ludlow, Colorado. The fight lasted all day. 2 Women and 11 Children died. 5 coal miners were shot and killed. The Ludlow Massacre was prompted by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) due to a lack of ability for the owners of the mines to meet several criteria. (I pulled them off of Wikipedia due to being tired.)
- Recognition of the union as bargaining agent
- An increase in tonnage rates (equivalent to a 10% wage increase)
- Enforcement of the eight-hour work day law
- Payment for “dead work” (laying track, timbering, handling impurities, etc.)
- Weight-checkmen elected by the workers (to keep company weightmen honest)
- The right to use any store, and choose their boarding houses and doctors
- Strict enforcement of Colorado’s laws (such as mine safety rules, abolition of scrip), and an end to the company guard system
Woody Guthrie’s song, “Ludlow Massacre” is about the incident. Incidents such as the Ludlow Massacre are not typically taught in school. Folk singers like Woody Guthrie were the persons who got the informaton dispersed. And this is just one instance of tragedy that struck those who stood up for fair labor laws. These people did not want to “destroy democracy” or bring any harm to the United States. They just did not want to be exploited, or see their children exploited, as production.
Finally, they labour everywhere for the union and agreement of the democratic parties of all countries.
~ Karl Marx
Today Unions still fight employers against discouraging them. Sometimes, a place such as Whole Foods will give their labor great working conditions as to negate the necessity for a union. Personally, I think this is wonderful, and is a function of unions. Employees get fair-living wages, health insurance benefits, and many other perks. Other companies, such as WalMart use intimidation tactics and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to keep unions from accessing their labor. They give their employees wages lower than the poverty line, with little-to-no benefits. In other parts of the world, there are even less labor laws that protect labor. The fight for fair conditions for the labor of the world is far from over. On this labor day, let us take some time to recognize how critical labor is for our society to function, and even for the production of our sustenance.
Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workers of the world, unite!
~ Karl Marx
Each worker would want a larger income, but the opportunity for it is very rare. Your article describes this condition perfectly.