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Video: History of Labor Day and unions is forgotten while we all watch college football
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Unions lack the prestige they once had. AP Photo Charlie Neibergall
I will be the first to admit that I will not spend hours of my Labor Day weekend reading books on this history of unions or thinking about the tremendous sacrifices of labor movements in the past. Like most Americans most of my hours will be spent relaxing, watching football, and perhaps even having one last summer barbecue.
At the same time I think it useful to pause for a few minutes and remember how Labor Day came about. The History Channel video below reflects on a day when labor unions were actually oppressed by government in addition to big business. Labor Day was essentially given as a gift to unions to try and makeup for government oppression in the Pullman Strike.
Today of course unions do not suffer from the same persecution from government. In fact after years of struggle the unions finally won protection from the federal government in the form of laws like the National Labor Relations Act. Unions now have a powerful grip over many industries though some businesses like Wal-Mart have managed to exclude them from others. In addition is worth noting that unions are still effectively still outlawed in many areas.
Unions rightfully deserve some of the criticism they receive for incidents of violence by members and excessive protection sometimes afforded workers. Having said this, we must not forget that big business and government can be just as abusive if not more so than unions. A truly fair system I believe is the one envisioned by the NLRB in which both business and unions are forced to share power in determining worker wages and working conditions. Absolutely power corrupts absolutely whether in the hands of business or unions. If we forget the days before Labor Day when big business and government worked to oppress workers we will doom ourselves to bringing those dark times back in the future.
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