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“A better life for the great producers of wealth” by Bill Bennett and John Cribb
For millions of Americans, Labor Day is a holiday for backyard cookouts, long-weekend getaways, and saying good-bye to summer. But on September 5, 1882, when the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City, it was a time for workers to call attention to problems brought on by the Industrial Revolution – factories where owners demanded 14-hour workdays, sweatshops where exhausted immigrants worked for pennies an hour, dirty mills where children tended grinding, clanking machines.
Samuel Gompers, the first president of the American Federation of Labor, was one who insisted that a laborer was more than “a mere producing machine.” A Jewish immigrant from England, he had no wish to destroy capitalism or see workers take over government – often the goals of labor movements in other countries. He simply wanted a better life for the American worker. As he saw it, that was the whole point of America.
“The fact of the matter is that we live in the United States of America, the richest country on the face of the globe,” Gompers said in 1904. “And the millions of honest toilers of America are willing to work to produce the great wealth and place it at the feet of the people of our country, but in return the toiling masses, the great producers of wealth . . . insist that there should be a better life and better home and better surroundings for the great producers of wealth.”
It took some struggle, and at times bloodshed, but the forces of collective bargaining, capitalism, and democratic government managed to make better lives for millions. For decades American workers have enjoyed one of the world’s highest standards of living. Today’s Labor Day barbecues are a restful testament to the work of reformers like Samuel Gompers.
American History Parade
1774
The First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia to draw up a declaration of rights and grievances against Britain.
1781
A French fleet defeats a British fleet at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, stranding Lord Cornwallis’s British army at Yorktown, Virginia.
1836
Sam Houston is elected president of the Republic of Texas.
1882
In New York City, 10,000 workers march in the first Labor Day parade.
1975
In Sacramento, California, President Gerald Ford escapes an assassination attempt by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme when Secret Service agents grab her pistol.
For millions of Americans, Labor Day is a holiday for backyard cookouts, long-weekend getaways, and saying good-bye to summer. But on September 5, 1882, when the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City, it was a time for workers to call attention to problems brought on by the Industrial Revolution – factories where owners demanded 14-hour workdays, sweatshops where exhausted immigrants worked for pennies an hour, dirty mills where children tended grinding, clanking machines.
Samuel Gompers, the first president of the American Federation of Labor, was one who insisted that a laborer was more than “a mere producing machine.” A Jewish immigrant from England, he had no wish to destroy capitalism or see workers take over government – often the goals of labor movements in other countries. He simply wanted a better life for the American worker. As he saw it, that was the whole point of America.
“The fact of the matter is that we live in the United States of America, the richest country on the face of the globe,” Gompers said in 1904. “And the millions of honest toilers of America are willing to work to produce the great wealth and place it at the feet of the people of our country, but in return the toiling masses, the great producers of wealth . . . insist that there should be a better life and better home and better surroundings for the great producers of wealth.”
It took some struggle, and at times bloodshed, but the forces of collective bargaining, capitalism, and democratic government managed to make better lives for millions. For decades American workers have enjoyed one of the world’s highest standards of living. Today’s Labor Day barbecues are a restful testament to the work of reformers like Samuel Gompers.
American History Parade
1774
The First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia to draw up a declaration of rights and grievances against Britain.
1781
A French fleet defeats a British fleet at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay, stranding Lord Cornwallis’s British army at Yorktown, Virginia.
1836
Sam Houston is elected president of the Republic of Texas.
1882
In New York City, 10,000 workers march in the first Labor Day parade.
1975
In Sacramento, California, President Gerald Ford escapes an assassination attempt by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme when Secret Service agents grab her pistol.
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Posted >1 y ago
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SP5 Jim Curry SSG (Join to see) Capt Jeff S. 1SG Dennis Hicks CPL Douglas Chrysler PO1 John Johnson SSgt Marian Mitchell Cpl Craig Meaux SSG Franklin Briant SrA Ronald Moore SGM Bill Frazer CMSgt Virgil Horsley LCpl Brad Gross A1C Riley Sanders SSG Samuel Kermon Sgt Albert Castro MSG Felipe De Leon Brown SMSgt David A Asbury SFC (Join to see) PO2 (Join to see)
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What does the fact that Samuel Gompers was Jewish have to do with the story?
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SGT Robert Pryor
I realize that, Lt Col Charlie Brown. I certainly wasn't criticizing you or the authors. It was just a comment that I have made all my adult life. Folks mention race when it really isn't part of the story and my mind draws a blank, making me look for the rest of the story. It's along story but I got in a bit of trouble in the first few minutes of my very first class on my very first day of college over this. The professor told me I ruined his lecture. It is part of my prosopagnosia, rending it difficult for me to tell by looking if someone is of Asian, African or European descent. I'm just more sensitive to disconnected mention of ethnicity than normal people. You can imagine how it drives me crazy to read the news nowadays with with nearly every story mentioning race.
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MSG Felipe De Leon Brown
Good question, Robert SGT Robert Pryor If memory still serves me well, the Jewish community was being subjected to an almost intolerable level of discrimination and mistreatment. Like many minorities, most preferred to go on with their lives without calling too much attention to themselves. Samuel Gompers was one of a very few who chose to express what he felt was not fair (it wasn't). Thanks to his and others' efforts, the workweek was reduced to 40 hours and work conditions were greatly improved. The name for Labor Day literally translates to Day of the Worker.
While many have bought into the notion that Labor Unions are useless, if it wasn't for Labor Unions the average blue collar worker would never have been making the salary that many have.
Has there been corruption in the Labor Unions from time to time? Yes. Has there been incompetent leadership? Yes. Has there been an incessant effort to denigrate and diminish the power of legitimate labor unions over the past half century? Yes, and in fact since the very beginning. For some reason, good things always have managed to attract people who want to abuse or destroy, no?
It is for these reasons (and other factors related to life here in the nation that I have served that I have continued to inform myself not only of the what but also the how and why. Knowledge is power. Wise use of that knowledge less to access and, as is the motto of the United States Army Special Operations Command, "SINE PARI" (Without Equal) which you can't achieve unless you consciously pursue mastery of whatever skills you have.
FYI Lt Col Charlie Brown
While many have bought into the notion that Labor Unions are useless, if it wasn't for Labor Unions the average blue collar worker would never have been making the salary that many have.
Has there been corruption in the Labor Unions from time to time? Yes. Has there been incompetent leadership? Yes. Has there been an incessant effort to denigrate and diminish the power of legitimate labor unions over the past half century? Yes, and in fact since the very beginning. For some reason, good things always have managed to attract people who want to abuse or destroy, no?
It is for these reasons (and other factors related to life here in the nation that I have served that I have continued to inform myself not only of the what but also the how and why. Knowledge is power. Wise use of that knowledge less to access and, as is the motto of the United States Army Special Operations Command, "SINE PARI" (Without Equal) which you can't achieve unless you consciously pursue mastery of whatever skills you have.
FYI Lt Col Charlie Brown
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MSG Felipe De Leon Brown
More sensationalism than actual news. Look at how the news have made it a point to mention that someone who has been accused of committing this or that crime was a SEAL, Green Beret and so forth. Sensationalism, pure and simple, no? But in the case of Charlie's post, I believe that it was important to not leave it out from the original article because of the historical context... just sayin'
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SGT Robert Pryor
PO3 Bob McCord - So true, and it pissed me off beyond words. Did you ever once see a story that said: Draft dodger kills (or whatever crime)? Of course, you didn't -- not one story every said that. Yet the overwhelming majority of crimes back then were committed by males who had never served -- but the lying media had its agenda back then, just as it does today. The actual numbers and other proof was detailed in the book "Stolen Valor" wherein the authors showed that Vietnam War veterans were proportionately less likely to commit crimes than those that did not serve.
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