It's Labor Day, when Americans honor:
the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend. It is recognized as a federal holiday.
Beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor. "Labor Day" was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, which organized the first parade in New York City. In 1887, Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday. By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty states in the United States officially celebrated Labor Day.[2]
Earlier today, Minnesota Republican Attorney General candidate Doug Wardlow wished a Happy Labor Day to the Great American Worker:
Today we celebrate the American worker and honor their many achievements.
As Attorney General, I will always be an ally for Minnesota workers. #VoteWardlow
Here's a screengrab:
While the grammar of "worker...their many achievements" is vexing, Wardlow's record of "always being an ally" of workers while a one-term wonder in the Minnesota House simply a knee slapper.
As state representative from Eagan, Wardlow was the author of HF 3009, which would have amended the state constitution to make Minnesota a right-to-work for less money state. The bill went nowhere, even though Wardlow tried his darnedest in weird moment on the floor, as The Uprtake reported in Maneuver To Un-stall “Right To Work” Fails In MN House.
Dakota County voters in a redrawn district bounced him from office in favor of Laurie Halverson in 2012. The St. Paul Union Advocate wrote in Labor 2012 Endorsed: Eagan deserves better than Doug Wardlow:
In his first term at the Capitol, Wardlow took up anti-worker Right to Work legislation as his personal pet cause, pushing a constitutional amendment on the measure last year even after leaders in his own party had moved on to other business.
Nonetheless, right-to-work legislation remains a threat to Minnesota labor.
The loving-the-hard-hats but hating on labor puts Wardlow in the same shell game practiced by some of the Republican Farmer Labor Caucus, which includes right-to-work advocates.
In the St. Cloud Times on Labor Day, Nora G. Hertel reported in What does labor want you to know this election season, this Labor Day?:
Have fun this Labor Day and spend time with your family, said Jane Conrad, field representative for the East Central Area Labor Council.
"We fought to get Labor Day," she said Thursday. "It's a gift to working people everywhere."
Conrad works with local unions in an 11-county area, building relationships, organizing members for community service or lobby days and gearing up for elections.
It's a major mid-term election this year in Minnesota, with a governor and two U.S. Senate races on the ballot, plus competitive congressional seats, state House spots and myriad local elections.
There's something else at stake for unions this year. The next governor and Legislature could decide if Minnesota becomes a right-to-work state like its neighbors.
"Coming up, Nov. 6 is the most important election for working people in Minnesota history," Conrad said Monday when Minnesota attorney general candidate Keith Ellison stopped at the Machinist Local Lodge 623 in St. Cloud. "Why is that? We have at stake our freedoms. ... Our freedom to join together in a union. Our freedom to retire in dignity. Our freedom for our children to have a quality education."
Bluestem Prairie wishes everyone a happy Labor Day.
Image: Via Smithsonian Magazine, "The first Labor Day was hardly a national holiday. Workers had to strike to celebrate it. (Frank Leslie’s Weekly Illustrated Newspaper’s September 16, 1882)." Check out the article, Striking Union Workers Turned the First Labor Day into a Networking Event.
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