American Labor Day: A Celebration Honorning the Nation's Workforce
In the heart of America, a quiet hero toils away, far from the glamour of royal courts and battlefields. This is the workingman, the monarch of the tattered vest, who needs no kiss of royal crown to wield the axe or guide the plow.
The workingman lives in the quiet corners of our country, where rill and fountain sing by stealth, and breezes soft with music roll. He builds, he grows, the forest, the city plan, and scatters seeds of love below. His toil is fraught with greater gains than the warrior who bleeds on the battled plains.
The poem "The Workingman" by Freeman Edwin Miller beautifully captures the essence of this humble hero. It praises his kingdoms of bannered corn and meadows bright with fairy bloom. No praises linger over his name where he works in silence.
In the sacred shine of love, with humble deeds he lives his days. His duty prompts him to build, to grow, and he finds contentment in simple wishes. Tender lullabies of song bring angel gladness to his rest. He drinks from the founts above and scatters gladness o'er his ways.
The workingman's story is deeply rooted in American history. In 1882, the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City, with 10,000 workers marching from City Hall to Union Square. This day was created by the trade-union movement to celebrate the right of working people to bargain collectively and to stage strikes.
However, the landscape of labour movements has changed significantly over the years. In 1954, nearly one in three US workers were union members. Today, it's just 5.9% of private-sector workers. Nearly a third of public-sector workers are union members, and about half of America's 14.3 million union members today work for government.
Strikes by public employees are considered "unthinkable and intolerable" by some, and this may be a reason for the decline in public support for unions and the disappearance of large Labor Day parades. Labor Day is now mainly celebrated as a sales event, end-of-summer party, and back-to-school preparation instead of a political holiday with large worker parades and demonstrations.
Despite this shift, it's important to remember the contributions of working men and women who have built the grandeur of our country. A day of thanks and a public salute is still due to these unsung heroes. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who did more than any other president to extend organized labor's reach, wrote that collective bargaining had no place in government service. Yet, the workingman's spirit lives on, guiding us with humble deeds and quiet strength.
As we move forward, let us not forget the workingman, the monarch of the tattered vest, who continues to shape our world with diligence and grace. His kingdoms of bannered corn and meadows bright with fairy bloom are a testament to his resilience and the power of hard work. Let us honour him, not just on Labor Day, but every day.
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