Today is Labor Day in the US, a day to honor a movement for which many lost their lives for better conditions we take for granted.
And for all the “regulations are bad” laments you hear from those for whom regulations mean money spent on things as frivolous as safety, know that without the labor movement, we would not have weekends or minimum wages or safety standards.
Nor would business still have any of these things were it not for the law; claims of self-regulation are greatly exaggerated. Many republicans have sung the praises of child labor, for example. Who can forget the image of Sarah Huckabee Sanders gleefully holding up newly relaxed standards for child labor next to three seriously depressed and resigned looking children?
This year, Labor Day feels ever more poignant, as we look down the barrel of a history-defining presidential race. You have the one “rich” guy who guffawed away with another rich guy about firing workers on strike vs. a woman who has a comprehensive plan of action to improve conditions and the lives of workers.
And it’s more stark than it sounds in words. It’s really the difference between a guy who sees everyone who isn’t him as a means to an end. That’s not speculation, we’ve already experienced it.
Against a woman who sees this country for what it is and what it could be, and that vision is beautiful, inspiring, hopeful.
And possible.
So think about how far labor has come to get here, how much further there is to go, and how people like donald and elon try whatever is in their power and a lot of what isn’t to wring as much out of the people who do the work for as absolutely little as possible.
And with that, I wish you a lovely Monday, holiday or not.
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