What is labor day for? are we celabrating anything other than a day off from school or work?
2006-09-03 18:59:32 · 6 answers · asked by karen! 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Labor day is for celebrating the achievements of labor unions.
Back in the bad old days, there weren't a lot of protections for workers. They could be fired for any reason--fair or unfair; people worked in dangerous conditions without safety equipment; they slaved for terrible wages and if they asked for better pay they were fired. We can thank labor unions for: child labor laws, the weekend, the 8-hour workday, overtime, worker's compensation, fire escapes in factories, maternity leave, the minimum wage, and a lot more.
Of course, now big companies send the jobs to China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Guatemala and other developing nations where they don't have labor unions. People over there get screwed just like American laborers got screwed eighty years ago. If labor unions in those places can get a foothold, maybe some of those jobs will come back to U.S. soil. And the U.S. government could stick up for those foreign labor unions a lot more than they do now. It would really be in the best interest of U.S. workers.
You might want to watch the movie Norma Rae. It's based on the true story of a woman who helped bring the union into textile mills in S. Carolina. It won an Oscar and is very entertaining. Another good movie about American labor is Matewan, directed by John Sayles.
So today, thank unions like the AFL-CIO for much of your quality of life!
2006-09-03 20:43:58 · answer #1 · answered by mistersato 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Celebrating the labor and labor movement of our country
2006-09-04 02:50:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
this is to remember the people who fought and sacrificed their lives to win the rights that are enjoyed by present employees or workers . one of such is 8 hrs work.
2006-09-04 02:10:56 · answer #3 · answered by san 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
we celebrate people who work by getting a day off.
2006-09-04 02:05:10 · answer #4 · answered by joe f 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day_(United_States)
2006-09-04 02:03:28 · answer #5 · answered by Sandie 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
celebrate by becoming a slave.....
2006-09-04 02:06:05 · answer #6 · answered by Emma 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋