…and of course don’t forget “Texas Red, a crated landscape of of prisons, deplorable public education, lack of healthcare and politicians and majority population intent on keeping it that way.”
While you’re enjoying the day off it may be easy to ignore the meaning of the day. This is especially true in a southern state hostile to things like freedom and worker’s rights. In Texas and at least 21 other states it’s known as by the greatly and confusingly misnamed title as a “right to work” state.
“Right to work” is Euro Anglo speak for the right of the oligarchs to abuse labor. The only right in a “right to work”state is the right of employers to fire a worker for no reason at all. In Texas workers have absolutely no rights with but one or two exceptions.
On the extra day off at the end of a long weekend it is easy to ignore what the day is really all about. It may be even more difficult to think about just how it is the day came about or why it exists at all while you’re busy enjoying a day of freedom---but you should think about it.
Because we don’t think about it---the oligarchs have managed to reclaim more than the combined efforts of Samuel Gompers and Franklin Delano Roosevelt managed to wrest from the petty, selfish, oppressive oligarchs.
Put another way, look at all the history you like and show me what benefits the GOPers (Republicans), Ayn Rand or Ann Coulter (or the three combined) have given Americans. I'll save you some time----none.
Notwithstanding, enjoy what little remains of the heroic efforts of Gompers, Roosevelt and countless caring, unselfish, self-sacrificing folk----Labor Day.
Labor day: Honoring Labor in the South
From Facing South, the online magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies. When Glenn Beck decided to hold his "Restoring Honor" rally last week at the very site in Washington, D.C. where Martin Luther King ...
“The Southern states were more hostile to unions, however, and after Congress adopted the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, giving states the authority to pass so-called right-to-work laws, the measures were quickly enacted in nearly all of the states in the South. The laws prohibit unions from making membership or payment of dues a condition of employment, either before or after a worker is hired; today, 22 states have some form of right-to-work provision in their labor codes.The laws have had a profound effect on the labor movement's ability to organize workers on a truly nationwide basis, restricting union growth across the South and the Sun Belt region.
Without unions to advocate for their interests, Freedom House finds that U.S. workers -- especially in the South -- face greater intimidation and retaliation from their employers, including threats to fire employees or close down plants if workers attempt to organize.
The threats to labor rights in the South also have a direct impact on the bottom line of working families. Nationally, workers in unions earn about 27% more than their non-union counterparts. While 81% of union workers have health care, only 50% of those without unions do. And 72% of unionized employees have a guaranteed pension, compared to only 15% of those without.
And contrary to the business-funded "research" that flooded the media during the Employee Free Choice Act debate last year, unions aren't a drag on the economy. A new study by Hofstra statistician Lonnie Stevans found that there was virtually no difference in employment rates and business investment when comparing states with and without "right to work" laws.
But Stevans did find some key differences: States with "right to work" laws do have lower wages and per-capita income, and the income of business owners is higher. Indeed, nine of the 10 states with the lowest median income are in the South.”
http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/labor-day-honoring-labor-in-the-south
Hasta Siempre,
More:
Samuel Gompers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Gompers
Labor Day
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm
Hard times for workers on Labor Day 2010
On Labor Day 2010, the state of America's workers is appalling
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/05/AR2010090502815.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Postcard From Woody Guthrie's Hometown
Okemah, Oklahoma—It's hard to imagine a quiet town like Okemah spawning a rabble-rousing, labor-loving, leftist. But then, once you walk around for a bit, it's also really hard to imagine Woodrow Wilson Guthrie coming from anywhere else.
http://motherjones.com/road-trip-blog/2010/09/woody-guthrie-oklahoma-labor
The Brothers Koch: Rich, Political And Playing To Win
Chances are you've never heard of Charles and David Koch. The brothers own Koch Industries, a Kansas-based conglomerate that operates oil refineries in several states and is the company behind brands including Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Lycra fibers and Stainmaster carpet. Forbes ranks Koch Industries as the second-largest privately held company in the U.S. — and the Koch brothers themselves? They're worth billions.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129425186
Covert Operations
The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama (..and on the rest of us, too)
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer
HARD LABOR
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Bill Moyers on Plutonomy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSoglDcRbAg
Texas Red
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-18764-San-Antonio-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2009m10d4-Texas-Red-a-cratered-landscape-of-prisons-deplorable-public-education-lack-of-healthcare-and-poli
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