Sobering Thoughts

Every first Monday of September, we enjoy the long weekend of Labor Day. For many, it’s the unofficial end of summer, a final barbecue, a trip to the beach, a day for sales. But the origins of the holiday are far more radical, rooted in the blood, sweat, and sacrifice of the American labor movement. Remembering this history casts a sobering light on the plight of the modern American worker.

Labor Day was born from struggle. During the Industrial Revolution, workers faced brutal conditions: 12-hour days, seven-day weeks, and child labor, all for meager pay. Unions rose to fight for the basic dignities we now take for granted. The first Labor Day parade was held in 1882 when 10,000 workers in New York City took unpaid time off to march against inhumane conditions. The holiday became a federal offering in 1894, a conciliatory gesture from a government rattled by massive strikes, like the Pullman Railroad strike, which was put down by federal troops.

For decades, unions were the backbone of a thriving American middle class. Their collective bargaining power was directly responsible for the eight-hour workday, weekends, workplace safety standards, and the concept of a living wage. They built a system where one income could support a family, buy a home, and secure a retirement. However, the landscape has dramatically shifted. Since their peak in the mid-1950s, union membership in the United States has plummeted, due to a combination of aggressive corporate opposition, shifting global economics, and legislative changes that have weakened their power. The decline of organized labor has had profound and sobering consequences for the American worker.

Without the countervailing force of collective bargaining, the power balance has tilted overwhelmingly toward employers. The results are visible in our economic data and our daily lives:

• Wage Stagnation: While worker productivity has soared, real wages for the average worker have largely remained flat since the 1970s. The fruits of their labor are no longer shared as widely.

• Erosion of Benefits: Pensions have become a relic for most, replaced by less secure 401(k) plans. Health insurance costs are increasingly shifted onto employees.

• Precarious Work: The rise of the gig economy and contract work has created a class of workers with no job security, no benefits, and no safety net.

• The Growing Inequality Gap: As union power waned, the share of income and health flowing to the top 1% has skyrocketed, creating the greatest economic disparity in a century.

This Labor Day, as we fire up the grill, it’s worth a sobering moment of reflection. The holiday is more than a day off; it is a monument to the power of collective action. The erosion of that power is not a footnote of history but a central reason for the economic anxiety that defines so many working lives today. The barbecues and sales are a fine tradition, but the greatest way to honor the spirit of Labor Day is to remember what was fought for, what has been lost, and what is still worth fighting for.  

In solidarity,

Erin Sutka