Walt Brasch August 31, 2003

Once a year, I and several hundred other reporters and columnists, write a Labor Day story.

A few of us may write about the personalities of the labor movement. About Mother Jones (1830-1930), the militant "angel of the coal fields" for more than six decades. Or, perhaps, we'll write about "Big Bill" Haywood (1869-1928) who organized the Industrial Workers of the World, a universal coalition, to fight for the rights of all labor. Or, maybe, we'll write about Sidney Hillman (1887-1946) who led strikes in 1916 to reduce the work week to 48 hours, from the standard 54-60 hours, then helped found the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) before becoming a major political force for workers during the labor-friendly Roosevelt administration. There may be stories about cigar-chomping Samuel Gompers (1850-1924), the first president of the American Federation of Labor, a job he held for 38 years. We might write about Eugene Debs (1855-1926), Joe Hill (1879-1915), and thousands of others who went to prison defending the rights of the workers not only to organize, but to demand better working conditions. But we won't become involved in the struggle, risk our jobs and futures. That's someone else's responsibility. We'll just follow inane rules and complain privately.

Hardly any of us remember Heywood Broun (1888-1939), one of the nation's best-paid columnists who risked his own financial stability to found The Newspaper Guild in 1935 to help those reporters making one-hundredth of his salary. We don't know about him or the history of the Guild. After all, we may believe that unions are acceptable for factory line workers, but we're "professionals," and mistakenly believe we don't need unions; we'll just continue to work unpaid overtime, split shifts, with minimal benefits and without a minimally-acceptable recourse for our grievances.

Some of us may interview current labor leaders, all of whom will say organized labor is having a tough time, but is still strong and vital, the only recourse against poor working conditions and unfair labor practices. But, we'll coldly report that fewer than 14 percent of all workers are now in unions, down from a peak of 35 percent in 1954.

We may interview the workers. An elderly man's remembrance of his life in the coal mines or breakers, and what Black Lung did not only to his own health, but to his family and friends. We might chat with an elderly woman who worked 12-hour days for a couple of dollars an hour in the heat and humidity of a garment factory. We may talk with a few current workers who, on the record will tell us they don't have it great, but it could be worse and overall, on the record of course, they work hard and are pleased with their jobs.

We won't remember that the Knights of Labor created the first Labor Day in 1882 and that the Congress made it a national holiday in 1894. But, we might interview a few readers to find out what Labor Day means to them. And, we won't be too shocked when most seem to say it means not a remembrance of the struggles for respect, dignity, and acceptable wages and working conditions, but of self-serving political speeches, hot dogs, burgers, and a pool party.

Some of us may write about the statistics of labor that now shows a retreat from the robust economy of the Clinton era. We'll quote the Bureau of Labor Statistics that "non-farm payroll employment continued to decline" and that "payroll employment was down" the past year. We'll note that the Department of Labor reports there are about 3.6 million Americans who are "not on temporary layoff," about 1.2 million more than a year earlier, and that the unemployment rate is now about 6.2 percent. We'll quote the cold reality that "job losses continued in manufacturing," and no one expects the continuing problems of unemployment, partially magnified by American corporate executive who send jobs to child laborers overseas, to level off anytime soon.

Business euphemistically claims it is "downsizing" or "rightsizing." The "bottom line" is improved; corporate investors are being "optimally compensated." But, the reality is that American workers are being fired and "laid off," while corporate management, opening factories in Mexico, Thailand, and almost everywhere but the United States, are taking multi-million dollar bonuses for improving the "cash flow." Even if executive management makes a few mistakes along the way, and the "return on investment" isn't what the Board of Directors and stock holders expect, almost all CEOs and their immediate underlings have the "golden parachute" that allows a soft drop from employment, yielding termination packages that can total millions of dollars and considerable benefits that no working class person will ever receive.

Of course, there are some industries that have gained in the past year's downward economy. Retail sales, which the Department of Labor reports as having the lowest average wages, is gaining workers. But, that's because the average number of hours per week in that industry is about 29.6, reflecting the reality that it's just "good business sense" to hire 75 low-paid part-timers and save the benefits costs than to hire 50 full-time clerks.

If we dig, we might learn that although average pay for all labor has increased from $13.75 an hour to $14.24 an hour over the past year, an increase of 60 cents, but that in terms of inflation the workers only gained eight cents an hour. But, those are just numbers. To the 50-year-old who worked hard for one company half of his life, showed up for work on time, left on time, and tolerated the company's banal preaching about everyone is "part of our happy family," and then is laid off as an "economy measure," the numbers don't matter. To the worker who put in 20 years in one job, then is fired for reasons that would be questionable under any circumstance, the numbers don't matter. To the $20,000-a-year worker who is told that she won’t receive a raise this year because "we're having a bad year," but sees upper management not only get raises and more stock options, but also hire other managers, all of them making five times or more than her salary, the other numbers don't matter.

Recent Department of Labor studies report that American workers are "the most productive" ever, that it’s up 5.7 percent over a year ago. That's because not only are they are doing so much more to compensate for their fellow workers having been laid off, but because they live with the fear if they don't work even harder they, too, may be laid off, or lose promotions, in an economy that is going as far South as our manufacturing plants. This year, I'm writing a Labor Day column. Next year, with all the layoffs and unemployment, and the blatant anti-labor biases of the current administration, there may not be much American labor to write about.