Labor Day
Delegate Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum
 
        As the son of a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance Way Employees, I learned early about the importance of the union to my father and to our family.  My father, John D. Plum, worked on the Shenandoah Division of the Norfolk and Western Railroad.  He made it clear to me that the BMWE looked out for us and our best interests.  The union was concerned about his pay for sure, but it also ensured that he had benefits like medical insurance that was so essential to our family.  The union also made sure that he had a safe place to work.
 
        This coming Monday is Labor Day as the first Monday in September every year is celebrated as a national holiday.  The U.S. Department of Labor describes it as "a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."  Although the originator of the first celebration of laborers is unclear in history, there was such a holiday celebrated in New York as early as 1884. By 1894, 23 states had adopted a holiday in honor of workers, and in that year Congress passed an act making the day a legal holiday.  The holiday came about in a turbulent period in the growth of the labor movement.
 
        For many individuals and families the day is celebrated as the symbolic end of the summer season.  While there are many picnics and parades and celebrations, the meaning of the day seems lost on too many people.  Big sales at the hardware and department stores, last opportunity for travel before the children start back to school, and the transition from the slower pace of summer to the business of the fall occupy most people's attention.
 
        Please take advantage of the sales this weekend.  A return of consumer spending and confidence is essential to ending the recession.  Go to the beach, have a barbecue, go to the parade and fireworks display.  A little relaxation before plunging into the fall season is good for morale.  Take the day off and do nothing if that is your preference. After all, Labor Day is a holiday!
 
        Sometime during Labor Day weekend it would be good if we paused for a few minutes and reflected on the contributions that workers make to the prosperity and quality of life of our country.  Some politicians continue to want to demagogue organized labor.  Already this campaign season there is a fear campaign underway to scare people into believing that labor unions are a threat to our society.  These are the same politicians who have tried to use race, immigration and other issues into scaring people.  Let's make a clear statement to these politicians that we reject the politics of fear and that we support the men and women who work hard every day to make the quality of life we enjoy in this country possible.  I am going to make it a point to thank every working man and woman I see this weekend.  And I will try to continue that habit throughout the year.  My father was one of those workers who was in a union.