Let us talk this Labor Day about slave labor in the United States. No, not the antebellum kind before the Civil War but the slavery that persisted well into the 20th century, the slavery that was integral not only to the southern economy but slaves owned by northern corporations and used to break strikes and …
Southern Gulag: How 20th Century Slave Labor Undermined the US Labor Movement Read More »
What’s the fastest growing and most heavily unionized sector of the workforce? Surprisingly, it’s professionals and technicians, 23 percent of whom belong to unions, compared to only 15 percent of the entire workforce. Why are these workers – who are supposed to be prospering in the new economy – joining unions? And why would even …
To many, the 2007 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. marked a low point for protecting women against pay discrimination in the workplace. The case held that Lilly Ledbetter, the plaintiff, could not hold her employer, Goodyear, accountable for pay discrimination that had occurred over many years …
Labor Day has become not just a time to for a parting celebration of summer, but for a hardy band of labor advocates to remind the public — at least those who bother to listen — of the perilous state of workers’ rights and economic security. For instance, Change to Win Chair Anna Burger announced …
If we have Mother’s Day to celebrate mothers, Father’s Day to celebrate fathers, and Valentine’s Day to celebrate lovers, it makes eminent sense to have a day—Labor Day—to celebrate the nation’s workers. Far too often the accomplishments of the nation’s workers—whether it’s producing the food we eat or protecting us from hurricanes—are ignored, instead of …
Several years ago, an upscale supermarket opened in Princeton, where I live. The store was non-union and members of the local UFCW were picketing. Not only did virtually all of my liberal Democratic neighbors cross the picket line as if it weren’t there, when I asked them about it later, they laughed at me. There …
The mood of the American worker in a word: jittery. This Labor Day, organized labor celebrates (if you can call it that) its 12 percent-of-the-workforce clout – 7 percent if you count only the private sector. Gone are the days when the unionized workforce was an effective checks-and-balance agent for stratospheric executive pay. Thirty years …
Around this time of year, it’s become traditional to question labor’s relevance, to take the pulse of unions and suggest that even if they once had a legitimate purpose they now are dinosaurs in a modern era. That’s understandable, in light of labor’s weak vital signs, but it completely misses the point, given what’s happening …
Of all of us currently in the throes of the Labor Day weekend, how many are thinking about what Labor Day really means? For many people, Labor Day signifies the end of summer and back-to-school time. It’s the first guaranteed three-day weekend since Memorial Day, and the first holiday since July 4. The more fashion-conscious …
On Labor Day, September 1, Workplace Fairness will launch the Take Back Labor Day blog project right here, on the new and improved Today’s Workplace blog. We hope you’ll support Take Back Labor Day by visiting the blog and sharing your opinions and insights with our bloggers and our readers through the comment function. Please …
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
