What Are You Doing Tomorrow to Support Labor?

Kenneth Quinnell at Crooks and Liars:

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is very active in advance of the Labor Day holiday. In addition to releasing the video above (and another video, see below), the organization released it's "America Wants To Work Action Plan." The plan (which can be read in detail here) includes six planks:

1. Rebuild America’s schools and transportation and energy systems: The plan argues that reinvesting in this critical, but crumbling, infrastructure will create millions of new jobs.

2. Revive U.S. manufacturing and stop exporting good jobs overseas: A number of policy proposals are included in this section, including strong opposition to free trade deals.

3. Put people to work doing work that needs to be done: This one is largely a repeat of No. 1 above, but also includes other policy options proposed by progressive members of Congress.

4. Help federal, state, and local governments avoid more layoffs and cutbacks of public services: This is an important focus -- the bipartisan assault on government workers at all levels is a big problem with the current failure in boosting the job market.

5. Help fill the massive shortfall of consumer demand by extending unemployment benefits and keeping homeowners in their homes: These moves are so obvious, it's a crime that they haven't been done yet.

6. Reform Wall Street so that it helps Main Street create jobs: Wall Street used to help Main Street, but they've moved away from that. Maybe we should do something about that.

The organization also launched a "Who Do You Heart" campaign for Twitter and Facebook, asking everyone to let everyone know what group(s) of workers they are thankful for this Labor Day. Anyone can post to Facebook or Twitter via a web interface for the campaign.

Gordon Skene has a historical reminder:

In 1941 it was only a matter of time before the U.S. would be engaged in a shooting war. On that Labor Day it was about building up military strength for what was going to be a very long haul and the Labor Movement was crucial to what would become a Herculean War Effort.

In this Labor Day Address (which fell on September 1st), President Roosevelt called on the American people to put aside fundamental differences and focus on what needed to be done.

Pres. Roosevelt: “On this day, this American holiday, we are celebrating the rights of free laboring men and women. The preservation of these rights is vitally important now, not only to us who enjoy them, but to the whole future of Christian civilization.”

In 1941 Labor was regarded an an integral part of American society.

Today, it's all different.

Hear the speech here.

And get the latest labor news roundup here.