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by Rev. Vicki
Did we just have a federal holiday? We had one but I must ask, did we celebrate one? Covid-19 put a damper on that. Restrictions were in place for our health and safety so at least for me, it felt a bit like any other Covid day. If we had been able to celebrate as usual, we would have seen lively activity with parades, beach outings, gatherings in parks or yards, and perhaps experienced wonderful smells like barbequed food. If we had been celebrating, where would our thoughts have taken us? Mine would have taken me to by gone family beach trips and family barbeques where admittedly we really celebrated togetherness more than the contributions of the work force. How easy it is over time to take for granted the efforts of those who went before.
Labor Day originated during one of our labor history’s most dismal chapters. In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories, and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities, and breaks.
As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the wellspring of American employment, labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay. Many of these events turned violent during this period costing the lives of workers and police. Others gave rise to longstanding traditions: On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history. The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later.
Although thoughts of my family and past celebrations were on my mind this Labor Day, I also thought of what it really meant, especially with the overlay of Covid. It was humbling to think of all the workers who have made my life possible, those who lived before me and those who live now. As a Christian, I think of the Body of Christ as a whole entity in which each person is essential to the delivery of God’s salvation message; I feel we should apply the same idea to our country. We need all of us to work together to ensure our country can function at its utmost. I feel there is no such thing as AN ESSENTIAL WORKER, especially as defined by Covid, ALL ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS no matter what the occupation. As Christians we have vowed to respect the dignity of every human being and since we are dependent on their work efforts, I might add, appreciate all that they do to make our lives possible.
–Rev. Vicki
