"WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM"

 “WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM”

“We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes…” those are words spoken by Ella Baker in the 1960’s as part of the struggle for human rights for African-Americans.  I first encountered them in a song called “Ella’s Song,” written by Bernice Johnson Reagon for Sweet Honey in the Rock.  If you haven’t heard that song or heard of Ella Baker either, please take time on this Labor Day to engage them.

And, yes, Labor Day is a time of rest to honor the workers of America.  It has been a national holiday for almost 130 years, being signed into law by President Grover Cleveland in 1894.  Workers had been agitating for unions and rights in the mid to late 1800’s in response to the rapid industrialization, the growing exploitations of workers (see my blog last year on the Atlanta Washerwoman’s Strike of 1881 https://nibsnotes.blogspot.com/2022/09/washerwomans-strike-1881.html), 

and the yawning pay gap between the super-wealthy and the workers. The first celebration of Labor Day was in New York City in September, 1882, but the crux came in 1894 when Eugene V. Debs led the Pullman Railroad Strike, which paralyzed much of the railroad traffic.  President Cleveland sent in US Army troops to stop the strike, and there were violent confrontations, resulting in the deaths of dozens of workers.  Debs ended up being prosecuted for his leadership in the strike, and he served time in federal prison, despite being represented by Clarence Darrow and others.  

In order to placate the workers’ anger and movement, Cleveland persuaded Congress to pass a law establishing a national holiday for workers, known as Labor Day.   They chose the first Monday in September rather than May 1 because they did not want it to be associated with the International Workers Day.   Their desire to tame it seemed to work well.  Labor Day is largely seen as the day to mark the end of summer and to have the last of the sales before the Christmas rush of sales begins.  And, membership in labor unions has been diminishing over the last 50 years, down from 35% of workers to 6% of workers today.  Indeed, the marking of Labor Day did not establish the foundation for unions – that would not come until 1935 with the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.

Yet this year there seem to be some parallels between the roots of Labor Day and the current atmosphere.  Writers and actors are on a national strike, UPS just concluded tough negotiations with the Teamsters Union drivers and workers, and airline and auto workers have given signals that they expect to call for strikes if working conditions and pay are not upgraded.  The early roots of the labor movement had its Carnegies and Rockefellers to contend with, and now it’s the Musks and the Bezoses who are the bosses in another period of rapid change and exploitation and resistance.  Plus, we’ve had a recent president who wanted to send out the Army for many domestic situations, so Grover Cleveland is being channeled by the Trumpster.

So, on this Labor Day, as you relax or shop or meditate, take time to give thanks to the workers and organizers, who over the decades have labored and fought to develop rights for those who labor.  Though union membership has dropped considerably and is especially low in the ironically named “right to work” states of the South, let us renew our commitment to justice for the workers.  The success of the union movement has been so great that they have almost put themselves out of business, but the need for them remains deep and great.  Let us acknowledge their legacy but also the need for continuing work.  We who believe in freedom cannot rest, except for perhaps on Labor Day.