LABOR DAY

Sen. Edward Kennedy led the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act and for all legislation benefiting working families.

Sen. Edward Kennedy leaves a void in the lives of working families that will be hard to replace, if ever it can be. Kennedy fought throughout his life with one goal in mind: to improve the lives of working people. He championed civil rights for people of color and LGBT people; better education for literally millions of kids; immigration reform; women; workers’ rights; the freedom of workers to choose a union; and, of course.

Kennedy wasn’t just a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. He helped create it, and he was the first to introduce it in the Senate.

The roots of Labor Day can be traced back to a time and place when the balance of life was askew. It was 19th century America. The industrial revolution was in full bloom, and people were needed en masse to feed the hungry machine of progress. Millions responded, lured from the farms by the dream of a secure year-round income in an environment sheltered from the often harsh elements of nature. They awoke from the dream to find themselves working twelve and fourteen hours a day. In dingy and sometimes dangerous conditions in the factories and underground mines.

From the late 1700s into the mid 1800s working people increasingly joined together in trade unions that would bargain collectively for the benefit of all members. In the spring of 1872, Peter McGuire, who had started his work life at age 11 to support his mother and six sisters while his father fought in the Civil War, joined 100,000 fellow workers to march the streets of New York in demand of better working conditions. It was an event that inspired him to devote himself to organizing others into effective trade unions. As the clout of these large organizations began to have positive results for the workers, Peter and some colleagues promoted the idea of a holiday in honor of the working people. It would fall halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving, in the first week of September, and be known as Labor Day.

The first Labor Day parade was held in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, organized by machinist Mathew Maguire. Twenty thousand workers paraded up Broadway with banners that read "Labor Creates All Wealth," and "Eight Hours for Work; Eight hours for Rest; Eight Hours for Recreation!" This was more of a festival than a demonstration. It was a celebration with picnics and fireworks. It was also an idea that quickly captured the interest of the nation and spread from coast to coast.

Today, Labor Day is seen as the last long weekend of summer rather than a day for political organizing. Friends and families gather and clog the picnic grounds and their own backyards -- and bid farewell to summer.

Now as another long weekend rolls around, it could be good to remember a few of the gains that might not have come around if labor unions hadn't been fighting so hard. The 40-hour work week, unemployment insurance, pensions and workman's compensation, just to name a few.