Celebrate Labor Day More Than Ever

Labor Day was established as a national holiday in 1894 after Congress in the Grover Cleveland administration passed a law to recognize, honor and celebrate the American labor movement.

Its origins dated back to 1882 in New York City when several labor organizations organized a voluntary parade and activities to raise the visibility and influence of the labor movement and the laboring classes.

In the late 1800's it was not unusual that many workers might work 12 hour days and six or seven day weeks to make a living.

The American union movement was attempting to gain strength and celebrating a "Labor Day" fit in well with their plans for wider recognition and respect.

The idea caught on and many other city labor centers followed suit in the next several years

Individual states began to pass legislation recognizing the day (Oregon was the first in 1887), and by the time Congress acted, 30 states had adopted some form of Labor Day

The political motivation was to repair relations with the labor union movement when there were considerable tensions as unions agitated for more influence.

Labor Day may have begun as something connected to the labor movement but it seems to me it needs to celebrated even more today.

Barely 5% of private sector workers today are members of a labor union. 

That compares to over 30% in the late 1950's and early 1960's.

Source: https://equitablegrowth.org/aligning-u-s-labor-law-with-worker-preferences-for-labor-representation/

On the other hand, over one-third of public sector workers (teachers, state, local and federal government employees) are in a union.

Source: https://jacobin.com/2022/01/labor-density-historical-comparison-strikes-weakness

Overall, the 15 million labor union members in the United States are split roughly 50% public sector and 50% private sector That amounts to 10% of the total workforce.

The large number of public sector union members is a big change from as recently as the 1960's when it was generally illegal for a public sector employee to even be in a union.

It is important to remember that there is no real legal or economic reason for the very existence of a public sector union in the first place. 

In fact, liberal luminaries in the 1930's such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Fiorello LaGuardia were opposed to public sector collective bargaining for the simple reason that it threatened the broad needs of the citizenry. This was the principal reason it was illegal for most government employees to unionize until well into the 1970's.

That is why you only see the public sector line above begin where it does.

Credit: https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/government-unions/what-was-fdr%e2%80%99s-stance-government-unions

The historical basis for unions in the private sector is based on insuring a balance of power to insure that workers receive a reasonable share of profits and work in safe and sanitary conditions. Governments don't have profits to share. They levy taxes to provide services to the public.

In addition, has anyone ever heard of a government worker toiling in a sweat shop? 

Governments also generally work in a monopoly situation meaning that if they provide poor service, no service, or they strike, there is no corresponding power by the consumer to go elsewhere as there is with a private sector business that is unionized.

Most importantly,  private sector unions are balanced against managers who have a natural incentive to push back on union demands. 

In the public sector no such tensions exists. More often than not the elected officials on the other side of the bargaining table are incentivized to give in to the unions for their own political survival. Democrats in particular know that they would not have been elected (nor will they be reelected) without that public sector union money flowing into their campaign coffers.

Why do I suggest that Labor Day needs to be celebrated more than ever today despite the decline of private sector unions?

It is because those that work and labor today (union or non-union, manufacturing, service, healthcare or anything else) are the ones who are paying taxes and pulling the wagon for everyone else.

These are the people who are making the United States work through their labor, sacrifice and tax payments.

And that number seems to get smaller every year.

The civilian labor participation rate (the adult population working) is only 61.4%.

20 years ago it was over 66%.

Source: https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm

Why are fewer people in the labor force?

Baby boomers have been retiring.

Source: https://usafacts.org/articles/what-is-this-years-social-security-cost-of-living-increase/

More people have a disability.

More people are just choosing to simply not work.

It means more people in the wagon. Fewer people pulling the wagon.

You can see the stark reality of this in these color coded maps of the United States that show the share of personal income in each county that comes from government transfers.

In 1970, not even 1% of counties relied on government transfers for 25% or more of its personal income.

In 2000, 10.4% did.

By 2022, 53% of all counties in the United States were relying on government money for over a quarter of their total personal income.

Credit: https://x.com/GreenPlusAnE/status/2094796289019871502

Those government transfers have to be covered by taxes on those who are in the labor force.

Or new debt that will ultimately have to be paid by someone laboring in the future.

Do you see why we need to celebrate Labor Day more than ever?

Hug someone who is working today.