Labor Day - 2005
For over one-hundred years Americans have honored the cornerstone of their Nation’s strength and freedom – the American worker – on Labor Day.
The idea for celebrating Labor Day came from a Machinist. Matthew Maguire, a member of Local Lodge 344 in Paterson, NJ, first proposed the idea at a Central Labor Union meeting in New York in 1882.
McGuire’s idea caught on quickly. The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. Two years later it was decided to set aside the first Monday in September as the holiday to celebrate workingmen.
In 1887, Labor Day legislation was introduced in six states. New York was the first to introduce the legislation but Oregon became the first state to recognize the Labor Day holiday as law.
President Grover Cleveland signed the law recognizing Labor Day as a federal holiday in 1894 under great voter pressure. Cleveland, no friend of workers, signed the law as an act of contrition for the deaths of thirty-four workers in the American Railway Union earlier that year.
A hundred years ago, taking a day off to honor workers was a radical concept, one that required further explanation.
“Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country,” said Samuel Gompers president and founder of the American Federation of Labor. “All other holidays are … connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race or nation.”
And that’s how it should remain – a day set aside for workers to recount their victories and gather strength for the hard work that lies ahead of them.
Since Matthew McGuire’s idea took hold, the America Labor Movement has won incredible victories – substantial pay raises, pensions, health care, overtime, weekends, safety standards, training opportunities – that produced the Greatest Middle Class the world has ever known. Those victories were won by men and women who had the courage to see wrongs and right them.
So, this Labor Day let us honor those American workers who faced down corporate tycoons and powerful politicians to build a better life for themselves and their children.
And, as Fighting Machinists, let us gather our strength for today’s battles against injustice, against the greed of corporate elites and against the power of their political allies. Let us recommit ourselves to winning dignity on the job for millions of unorganized workers.
After all, that’s what we do. That’s what we’ve always done. And that’s what separates us from those who see Labor Day as just another day to enjoy the good life, the good life won through the hard work and sacrifice of others.
R. Thomas Buffenbarger
International President
Machinists at Boeing Cast Ballots
IAM members at Boeing locations in Portland, OR, Wichita, KS and Washington state are casting ballots today (Sept.1) on a so-called "last and final" contract offer that union leaders called an "insult" to the men and women who helped rebuild the company.
"This is about the direction of entire aerospace industry in North America, said Dick Schneider, IAM Aerospace Coordinator. "We are urging IAM members to send an unmistakable message that our jobs, our pensions and our families’ health care are more important than whatever vision Boeing has for our future."
The results of the ratification and strike authorization vote will be posted on the District 751 website www.iam751.org after ballots from all locations are collected and counted.
"We trust our members will do the right thing," said District 751 President Mark Blondin. "They suffered and they sacrificed when this company was in genuine need. But after watching profits triple over the past three years and seeing the company dole out tens of millions in executive compensation, they will not let this opportunity pass. One way or another, we will get them to do the right thing."
IP Buffenbarger agreed. “The Boeing Company miscalculated badly. They refused to deal fairly with their employees when they sensed an opportunity to gain an unfair advantage. That approach may win applause on Wall Street, but it’s a dead end in the real world.”
IAM Makes Hurricane Relief Appeal
Hurricane Katrina has devastated many members of our Union. Brothers and sisters throughout the states of Louisiana and Mississippi and other parts of the Gulf Coast have been beaten by winds, floods and total destruction within a short amount of time.
Traditionally, in times of tragedies such as this we have appealed to the membership for donations. Without fail, IAM members have responded with warm-hearted generosity. It is in that tradition – and to that spirit of generosity – that we now make this appeal.
The funds that are received will be distributed directly to IAM families on the basis of need. Needless to say, there will be a strict accounting made of all funds received and disbursed.
IAM sisters and brothers need our help. We are confident that you will join us in responding to that need of helping our members reconstruct their lives.
Checks should be made out to:
IAM Disaster Relief Fund
And mailed to:
IAM Community Services Department
9000 Machinists Place
Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772-2687
If you have any questions, please contact Maria Cordone, Director, Community Services/Retirees Department at 301-967-3433.
Talbot’s Granddaughter Passes Away
Martha Talbot Helms Eaves, granddaughter of Machinist founder Tom Talbot, passed away on Saturday, August 13 at the age of 88.
The Georgia native, a strong believer in organized labor, spent her later years working tirelessly to improve the lives of the elderly. She spent the past two and a half decades lobbying lawmakers and working to ensure Georgia seniors received meals and other services to keep them independent.
Mrs. Eaves loved a good fight and regularly attended 2 a.m. legislative budget meetings to make sure lawmakers took care of the elderly. She graduated from Georgia State University at the age of 50 with a degree in English literature and was selected twice as a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging.
Winpisinger Apartments Answer Cleveland Senior Housing Need
Forty-two Cleveland seniors will be enjoying life in an affordable, full-service housing facility next summer, thanks to the efforts of the IAM and Ohio’s Elderly Housing Development & Operations Corporation.
Named after former IAM president William W. Winpisinger, the site was dedicated in a ceremony that marked the long struggle to begin construction and paid homage to the late president.
“Wimpy was dedicated to making sure seniors had safe and affordable housing,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “He would have been proud of what we are doing here today.”
The building, located in Cleveland’s Shaker Boulevard corridor, is to be a complete restoration of a former office building that will include the replacements of the structure’s façade and the gutting and rebuilding of the insides. The project is expected to be completed by June 2006.
Bush Approval Ratings Continue Free Fall
With the economy still struggling and two-thirds of Americans saying rising gas prices have caused them financial hardship, President Bush’s approval rating has dropped to a meager 45 percent, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Bush’s rating marks a 7-point drop since January and gives him his lowest rating ever recorded by the Post-ABC surveys. Continued bloodshed in Iraq, faulty Social Security reform and the president’s handling of immigration all contributed to his lackluster ratings.
The Republican-dominated Congress also received failing marks, with only 37 percent of respondents approving of the way they are doing their job.
The survey also indicated American’s are anxious for Democrats to take a tougher stance on the Bush Administration’s policies. More than three in four self-identified Democrats said Congressional Democrats have not done enough to oppose Bush on Iraq and administration policies in general.
More Americans Living in Poverty
The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.1 million to 37 million last year, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday. Overall, 12.7 percent of Americans are living below the poverty level.
The figures mark the fourth straight year the number of Americans living in poverty has increased. The last time there was a decrease in Americans living in poverty was in 2000 during the Clinton administration when 31.1 million lived in poverty. Since Bush took office, however, that number has increased steadily to 37 million.
The Census Bureau also reported that 800,000 more Americans are living without health insurance and the country’s median household income once again remained stagnant.
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