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Labor Day: Recommit to Full Employment
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By Rev. Jim Sessions
The Rev. Jim Sessions is the president of the Working America Education Fund and is former director of the AFL-CIO Union Community Fund. He reminds us of the need for the union movement and religious communities to recommit to the joint fight for justice.
The labor movement is the largest and most powerful economic justice organization in the world. From its beginning, the union movement and some parts of the religious community have worked together to help bring justice to our society. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) in 1909 recognized this connection by designating the Sunday before Labor Day as Labor Sunday, a day dedicated to the spiritual and educational dimensions of the labor movement.
Labor organizers have often drawn from the deep wells of religious imagery to lead struggles for economic justice. As scholar and author Perry Bush points out, “They have been able to do so because a great mass of U.S. workers have held religious convictions that were not easily stripped away or transmuted into mindless obeisance to the power of the wealthy.”
Labor Day and Labor Sunday are times for the religious community and the labor movement to not only celebrate working people and their contributions to society. It also is a time to remember the struggles that workers endured to achieve the many benefits we now enjoy but take for granted. Benefits such as the eight-hour day, workers’ compensation, overtime pay, pensions, health and safety laws, Social Security, Medicare, vacation days, unemployment compensation, family medical leave, restrictions on child labor, a minimum wage and the freedom to form unions for collective bargaining. These benefits helped to humanize the workplace and to provide a safety net for millions.
This Labor Day and Labor Sunday, we need to recommit ourselves to the principles that have energized the labor movement over the centuries. For example, in this richest country in the world, more than 2 million full-time workers live below the poverty line, struggling to pay for necessities like food, housing, health care, transportation and child care.
If America’s economy is going to recover, we need paychecks that can fuel consumption. And it would be unconscionable to allow profitable companies to use the recession to drive America’s middle class out of existence.
With record long-term unemployment and communities losing vital public services, it is time to put full and fair employment and a massive federal works program back on the national agenda. Anybody who wants to work should be able to find a job, and not just any job but a job with justice.
Big Business is sitting on record cash reserves. Rather than put America back to work, they’re spending that money opposing jobs and fair taxes. The labor movement and the religious community must combine their power and mobilize to achieve full and fair employment. We must push hard for Congress to pass legislation like the Local Jobs for America Act, which would save or create 1 million jobs. We must continue funding the emergency Temporary Assistance to Needy Families subsidized jobs program and again extend emergency unemployment compensation. To rein in Wall Street, Congress must pass a financial speculation tax.
After the Labor Day weekend is over, we can keep raising our voices. Labor, religious and community coalitions across the country are organizing to address the jobs emergency in many ways, including actions on Sept. 15, organizing local Unemployed Workers Councils and building for the “One Nation Working Together” march on Washington on Oct. 2. Now is the time to make sure that we use our political and moral power once again to make life better for working Americans.
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23 Comments
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You every heard of getting along. Instead of bashing corporations and the rich why don,t you ask God to try to get along with the wealthty. If you love God you should try to love the rich like he does since he no favorites. Come on Rev Jim love your enemies instead of bashing them,
Building Bridges Radio: Your Community and Labor Report
National Edition
Produced by Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg
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Labor Day Week Special
One Nation Working Together
With
. Arlene Holt Baker, Executive Vice President, AFL-CIO
. George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU
This October 2nd, triggered by the AFL-CIO, SEIU Local 1199
and the NAACP, now joined by hundreds of organizations we’re
headed, to a mass demonstration in Washington D.C. to demand
the jobs to put people to work, and back to work. Jobs, economic
security, comprehensive immigration reform, safe and renewable
energy policy and a reversal of national priorities from making
wars to meeting human needs – that’s the message! We’re
going to march to demand the change we voted for when Barack
Obama was elected. That’s right – create jobs and stop moving
money out of education and into wars and prisons. Plus sound
from Wall Street Jobs Rally.
*************************
To Download or listen to this 28 minute program
go to our website http://www.buildingbridgesradio.org
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In 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, Arthur Dahlberg wrote, “failure to shorten the length of the working day . . . is the primary cause of our rationing of opportunity, our excess industrial plant, our enormous wastes of competition, our high pressure advertising, our economic imperialism.”
Of course, that was also close to the position of the American trade unions up until the 1950s when they climbed on the “Borrow. Spend. Buy. Waste. Want.” bandwagon.
When are the unions going to catch on to the fact that capitalism has unhitched the jobs and wages caboose from the economic growth freight train? There IS an alternative. See Tom Walker’s submission to the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families.
“The current concerns about the state of the planet require something of a paradigm shift for economics. If we don’t make serious changes soon, probably in the next 10 or 15 years, we may find that it’s too late.” presidential candidate Barack Obama
See also “Working Less So All Can Work: A Strategy for Progressives” which features John de Graaf’s cover story in this month’s The Progressive magazine.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Working-Less-So-All-Can-Work-A-Strategy-for-Progressives/145800502118723
Once again, AFL-CIO is behind the times. While they were playing nice with elitist Democrats, and getting nothing in return, the void of leadership and a voice for the angry was being filled by clowns like Glenn Beck. Way to go, guys ! The plane has left the tarmac, and there you go chasing after it. I love the new strategy, “vote for more Democrats” They’ve done nothing to help us, these Democrats. I don’t care, I’m not voting for those scum. And by doing so, I’ll suffer from battered wives syndrome no more.
It is nice to know there are still sensible religious leaders still out there. This country was founded on religious freedom so that no one could be persecuted for what they believed. Today the Christian right is trying to (step 1) make it un-American to be anything other than a Christian. Then (step 2) make the claim that being a Christian means believing man’s laws are not important. Then (step 3) convince it’s followers that the liberals and democrats are an evil that wants to destroy America. This is in my opinion a political movement by extremists designed to re-gain the power they once had in the 1600′s. By stopping any social programs designed to help people in there time of need they can force people to try to seek help from the churches where they have a chance to “convert them” and gain strength. They are working 24/7 on Fox news and conservative radio to stop any support of Obama and deliver their messages of fear.
Would just one of you socialists please show me which country in the world is better than we are? There is not one example of a socialist country that is better off than we are. Our problems stem from a government that is out of control in its spending. As an electrician my bread and butter come from corporations and wealthy people. I can count on a couple of fingers in 29 + years the number of times I have worked at a union members home. Every time socialism/marxism is tried the working class takes the biggest hit and this piece of dog crap our union leaders have pushed on us (Barack Obama) is not our friend. I have always tried to work myself out of a job and I found when layoff time came I was not on the list. Embrace our nations history and learn from it. Our founding fathers were much more wise than our current or for that matter last several administrations are or were. Embrace capitalism and work hard and our unions can succeed no matter who the president is. And for the record, Barack Obama is the least qualified person in any room he may enter for any job. America got hosed with this loser.
Furthermore, for you environmentalist who want to be roadblocks to the betterment of society, how many jobs have been lost due to over regulation? We have not built a refinery in the US for 30 years which are predominantly union maintained. We have not built a nuke power plant in how many years? We have shut down how many nuke sites? How many union jobs have been lost due to the environmental wacos that union leadership and the democratic party are in bed with? It seems like our union and democratic leadership are more concerned with socialism than the well being of the dues paying union members. Further, we can not drill in Anwar, a flat, barren, good for nothing but oil producing piece of land. Who is blocking this union producing job endeavor? Who put a drilling moratorium in the gulf because of one accident? The answer in not conservatives to any of these. So please tell me, what has the Dumacratic party done for the dues paying union members. I know, some of them don’t think gas is expensive enough. This really helps the working class. I KNOW, they want me to drive one of these stupid little piece of junk electric cars. Take this, I am going to drive my Chevy Suburban and my Dodge Diesel and run you wacos over in your stupid little unsafe junk.
I really feel sorry for you partner. You do not seem to understand what being a union man is or the direction this country is going in. Being union is about all of us working together to make sure we are not exploited by unscrupulous business people. You seem to only care about yourself. As long as you have a job you don’t care what else is going on. Did you not notice that when the Republicans are in power the unions get weaker. Did you not notice that when corporations are not regulated they start exploiting their workers, start caring less about our safety, start making lower quality products and spend more on lobbying for things like ending the 40 hour work week. Corprorations are not your friend just because you have been making your living of of them all these years. They will cut you loose in heart beat. As far as the socialism thing you are so worried about… you are very lucky that you have been a union man all these years. You have taken your success for granted and feel that people who need help are below your level. You would not feel the way you do if you would have had to work non-union without benefits. There is nothing wrong with all Americans pitching in to make sure no one has to live in pain or die early just because they could not afford insurance. Since the dems got in power they have tried to get the economy back on track but to do that requires lots of money. The Republicans have turned this into a pitch that dems are on a spending spree. You must listen to Rush limbaugh and Fox news not to realize what is really going on. The Republicans are saying no to everyting the dems are doing that will get us back on track for two reasons. One is that they are afraid of anything that will work because it would make the dems look good and two they want to be able to say that the dems are not able to get anything done in order to regain power in November. We need to unite as union members and vote to keep the dems in power. That means you need to stop being an individual and get together with those of us who care about the middle class. Please think about this and look into some other sources of info besides the ones you are listening to now.
ibewman, another one of those Fox & Kochs suckers?
We should support ALL companies being required to use E-Verify for all current and future hires. This would be a huge step in securing American workers rights in the workplace. We should not tolerate both Republican and Democratic business owners hiring Illegal Aliens thus displacing American workers and pushing wages and benefits into a downward spiral:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VPiCKVfZLQ
I agree. There should be a harsh penalty for anyone caught hiriing illegals. It will make it better for us and for legal imigrants who need better paying jobs.
Ibewman, why don’t you try Norway, or Sweden, or Iceland. You seem to me to be another one of those guys who is Union because it pays more and you really don’t care about brotherhood. Is facsism a better fit than socialism for you? Hurray for me, too bad for you, is the type of attitude you seem to have.
Just saw the sign at President Obama’s rally. The sign “We WON’T go back” would be so ideal on T-shirts to sell on Amazon.com.
On the bottom should also read: VOTE 11/2010
Support THE DEMOCRATS
I would buy ONE and so will my friends.
Great idea. I would buy one.
It amuses me that the socialists live in this fantasy world that they will create a utopia. It shows what the human mind can believe in strange doctrines . They make it like socialism will make a perfect society. It never will happen. Socialism will go down like all utopian beliefs. There is nothing that will be perfect because of weakness of human beings. We will always haves divisions.
Couldn’t jesus be classified as a socialist. Or was he more of a dog-eat-dog, law of the jungle republican type ? Or should we not strive for utopia and just let the not so fortunate suffer as long as we’re alright ?
Stalin and Hitler were socialists . Jesus was the Son Of God and said we should help out neighbor instead of government doing it.
Hey! I’m impressed with the feedback, accept, none of you have answered my questions as to who is putting roadblocks to refineries, nukes and more drilling for oil. We have a need for all of this. Do we want brownouts every summer when it gets hot? The answer is not many, none of the union members I have worked with want that. It is liberals who shut down a nuke power plant near Tulsa that put literally hundreds if not thousands of union tradesmen out of work in the 80′s. It is a liberal Kansas Governor who would not allow a coal fired power plant to be built in western Kansas. That is not helping the middle-class “brother.” Fortunately our current Governor has given the green light for this power plant. Not only will there be permanent maintenance jobs with this power plant but the coal it takes to feed it will preserve coal mining jobs. As for “ijerryc” I did work non-union for 4 1/2 years and no, I do not look down on anybody willing to work, so be careful what you assume. I want what is best for America and a high percentage of our Government Leaders, both right and left, are spending us into oblivion. Every man, woman and child in the USA are in debt to the tune of about $46,000 dollars each. This out of control spending will come to an end. The question is how poor do you want to be when the bottom does fall out. There is plenty of history to prove this point. As for Norway and Sweden they are way to liberal for this conservative. Maybe our unions should borrow like the government and pay for all laid off members missed wages, insurance and retirement plans. When the money runs out, just borrow more and keep raising the dues we pay. Come on guys lets lead the way and show it works.
You know it won’t work personally, as a union organization and it does not work at the government level either. If we aim for utopia but the means to get there lead us downward, that is a delusion that will lead to equal misery. Again, history will prove this point. I have currently at my disposal in the USA the opportunity to succeed and I I I am going to succeed regardless of who has been, or who is in, or who will be in the White House.
Hitler was a facsist, Stalin was a Communist, complete polar opposites of eachother, neither being socialist. I learned that in sixth grade. Do you think if you go around screaming, “socialist!” People will think you’re smart ? If so, than think again. Jesus was a socialist. It’s not a question, it’s more of a statement from the new testament. Would Jesus not heal those with pre-existing conditions ? Although you’d probably like to see them removed, but some interesting bible passages are, Matthew 4:23, 9:35, 17:14. Mark 7:31, 8:22. John 9:51and the kicker, matthew 25:31-46. Strange how those who claim morally superior are the same ones who are most likely to reject helping the poor and displaced. This is called a hypocrite. Learned that in fourth grade.
Norway and Sweden are both financially solvent and will be for some time. I doubt very few people on this site disagree with a third party. However, a good portion probably disagree with the Fox talking points (thinly veiled republican shills) that you so readily espouse. As far as nukes go, they’ll be building them again soon. They put the breaks on them after the disaster at 3 mile island. Coal fired power plants are being built Union all through the Ohio River Valley and Pennsylvania, and Illinois, and WV. BP in Ohio is gearing up for refinery expansion as Sun Oil in Ohio has already done so. So yeah. You’ll succeed, and all of us decent Union brothers and sisters will help carry you along the way.
Sweartogod , I think you should look at the Bible. I believe Jesus did have favorites. I believe he said it would be harder for a rich man to get into heaven than for a camel to get through the eye of a needle.
Personally , I don’t hate any rich people or big corporations. I hate the things they do to working people who are not trying to get rich. They are only trying to support their families and give them a decent life..
I think you should examine why you don’t like working class people and unions.
When racist schemes are pushed by the ruling class to divide and weaken us, they must be exposed and stopped, and when they are propose here, they must be answered by explaining the meaning of solidarity and why it is the foundation of the house of Labor.
Having said that. it appears to me that this blog is enduring a concerted effort by a few bitter, hate-filled old caucasians stuck in the boondocks with too much time on their hands. Most of what they write is childish drivel, and they should not be allowed to distort our discussion so. This site is for the working class.