workers or working-class people, regarded collectively ."the growth of the industrial proletariat"
synonyms: the workers, working-class people, wage earners, the working classes, the common people, the lower classes, the masses, the rank and file, the third estate, the plebeians; the lumpen, the lumpenproletariat.derogatory: the hoi polloi, the plebs, the proles, the great unwashed, the mob, the rabble.
Labor Day, an annual celebration of workers and their achievements, originated during one of American labor history’s most dismal chapters. In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, 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.Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later, when a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view. On May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. On June 26, the American Railroad Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars, crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break the strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers. In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. ~ from HISTORY.com
A Brief History of Labor day
This weekend—Labor Day
Weekend—is the one time each year Americans celebratethe hoi polloi, the plebs, the proles, the great unwashed, the mob, the
rabble. Sometime since the first Federally affirmed
Labor Day, the meaning has been lost to picnics, beginning of school, a few parades,
and lots of alcohol consumption.
For a lessening few, this
is a time to remember and celebrate the working men and women of the United States.
I suppose there are many ways to this; I rather prefer the music of the
proletariat to any other way.
Woody Guthrie
There are all sorts of
songs: some are humorous; some are motivating; some celebrate heroes; some
remember tragedies. Below are a few that I was able to locate as videos on the
Internet:
The union hall is empty, the labor camps tore down. And everything we worked for lies broken on the ground. And I'll bet old Cesar Chavez,'d roll over in his grave. If he could see the working man, how he's become a slave.
~ Larry Gardner Marina, del Rey, California
The Factory Workers 1907
In ancient Rome the proletariat (literally meaning “producers of offspring” because their only “wealth” was their children) consisted of the poor, landless freemen, artisans, and small tradesmen. In the theory of Karl Marx, the term proletariat designated the class of wage workers whose chief source of income was derived from the sale of their laboring power. In the modern world the proletariat can be defined as all of those wage earners who work for someone else. There is also a sub-proletariat (Lumpenproletariat), disenfranchised and oppressed, who we call the unemployed; their plight I must address a future blog post.
On this Labor Day I can think of no better way to recognize the proletariat than the songs that were written and sung as they fought for their and our rights. Much of what these working men and women won during the first three-fourths of the Twentieth Century—the 40 hour work week, health insurance, a retirement income and much more—has been lost in the last thirty or so years under successive Republican administrations.. However, the music continues and may some day re-awaken the labor movement and our freedom from the oppression of the 1% (including the huge, multinationals corporations.
Joe Hill became famous around the world after a Utah court convicted him of murder. Even before the international campaign to have his conviction reversed, however, Joe Hill was well known in hobo jungles, on picket lines and at workers' rallies as the author of popular labor songs and as an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) agitator. Thanks in large part to his songs and to his stirring, well—publicized call to his fellow workers on the eve of his execution—"Don't waste time mourning, organize!"—Hill became, and he has remained, the best—known IWW martyr and labor folk hero.
I took a bath this morning in six war speeches, and a sprinkle of peace. Looks like ever body is declaring war against the forces of force. That's what you get for building up a big war machine. It scares your neighbors into jumping on you, and then of course they them selves have to use force, so you are against their force, and they're aginst yours. Look like the ring has been drawed and the marbles are all in. The millionaires has throwed their silk hats and our last set of drawers in the ring. The fuse is lit and the cannon is set, and somebody is in for a frailin. I would like to see everysingle soldier on every single side, just take off your helmet, unbuckle your kit, lay down your rifle, and set down at the side of some shady lane, and say, nope, I aint a gonna kill nobody. Plenty of rich folks wants to fight. Give them the guns. ~ Woody Guthrie
Once upon a time, wasn’t singing a part of everyday life as much as talking, physical exercise, and religion? Our distant ancestors, wherever they were in this world, sang while pounding grain, paddling canoes, or walking long journeys. Can we begin to make our lives once more all of a piece? Finding the right songs and singing them over and over is a way to start. And when one person taps out a beat, while another leads into the melody, or when three people discover a harmony they never knew existed, or a crowd joins in on a chorus as though to raise the ceiling a few feet higher, then they also know there is hope for the world ~ Pete Seeger
It's Labor Day weekend. Labor Day, of course, is
a holiday where people take three days off from being unemployed.
Jimmy Kimmel:
You know,
it's hard to believe. But it's almost time for a new season of "Dancing
with the Stars." According to TMZ, the producers have a dream list. I have
my dream for the next "Dancing with the stars." His name is Rob Ford,
Toronto mayor. If Rob Ford
doesn't win re-election, I'm going to try to book him to perform at our office
holiday party.
Jimmy Fallon:
A new study found that having a big wedding
boosts your chance of having a good marriage. While having a destination
wedding boosts your chance of having friends who hate you.
Conan O’Brien:
Yesterday
a fight broke out between the Oakland Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys during a
joint practice. Referees told them there's a proper way for NFL players to
settle their disputes. It's called murder.
Seth Meyers
The Kardashians are refusing to start filming
their 10th season until the people who burglarized their homes over the past
few months have been caught. So let that be a message to those burglars. Stay
hidden! Trust nobody! You're our only hope!
`Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Corporate America
1. Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2. You can't tell which way the train went by looking at the track.
3. There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.
4. Happiness is merely the remission of pain.
5. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
6. Sometimes too much to drink is not enough.
7. The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant.
8. The careful application of terror is also a form of communication.
9. Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world.
10. Things are more like they are today than they ever were before.
11. Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for.
12. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.
13. Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.
14. I have seen the truth and it makes no sense.
15. Suicide is the most sincere form of self-criticism.
16. If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.
17. All things being equal, fat people use more soap.
18. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
19. One seventh of your life is spent on Monday.
20. By the time you make ends meet, they move the ends.
21. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
22. The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets.
23. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
24. This is as bad as it can get, but don't count on it.
25. Never wrestle a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
26. The trouble with life is, you're halfway through it before you realize it's a do-it-yourself thing.
27. Youth and skill are no match for experience and treachery.
28. No amount of advance planning will ever replace dumb luck.
29. Anything you do can get you fired; this includes doing nothing.
30. Money can't buy happiness; it can, however, rent it.
31. Never pass a snow plow on the right.
For a
couple of years I’ve been blaming it on lack of sleep and too much pressure
from my job, but now I found out the real reason: I’m tired because I’m
overworked.
The
population of this country is 237 million. 104 million are retired. That leaves
133 million to do the work.
There are
85 million in school, which leaves 48 million to do the work.
Of this
there are 29 million employed by the federal government, leaving 19 million to
do the work.
2.8
million are in the Armed Forces, which leaves 16.2 million to do the work.
Take from
the total the 14,800,000 people who work for State and City Governments and
that leaves 1.4
million to do the work.
At any
given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals, leaving 1,212,000 to do the
work.
Now,
there are 1,211,998 people in prisons. That
leaves just two people to do the work. You and me.
And
you’re sitting at your computer reading jokes!
Always self consciousof his lack of ears, whenever Bob would interview a future employee, he would as him “what do you notice different about me?”. If the employee would mention his lack of ears (which often they did), it would be a for sure “no” for the job. However if the employee would mention something else, he would hire the guy.
One year, at the yearly Holiday business party, Bob approached his most recent hireling and asked him if he remembered the last question he had asked him when interviewing him for the job. “Sure I do” was his reply. “You asked me what was different about you and I said that you were wearing contact lenses.” “Of all things to answer”, Bob questioned curiously, “why was that the thing you noticed?” “Well, to be honest, it was quite simple. How could you possibly be wearing glasses if you don’t have any ears!”
While waiting for a bus, the blind man's dog decided to go to the bathroom all over the blind man's legs.
A passerby commented to the blind man, "What! That dog just went to the bathroom all over your legs, and you are petting him? Why?"
To which the blind man replied, "Madam, I am not petting him, I am feeling for his bottom, so I can kick him."
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin
the poor of the land, saying, ‘When will the new moon be over so that we may sell
grain;and the sabbath, so that we may
offer wheat for sale?We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practise deceit
with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a
pair of sandals, and selling the
sweepings of the wheat.’ The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
When Jesussaw the crowds, he went up the
mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.Then he began to speak, and taught
them, saying: ‘Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are
those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ‘Blessed are
the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ‘Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ‘Blessed are
the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ‘Blessed are
the pure in heart, for they will see God. ‘Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ‘Blessed are
those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. ‘Blessed are
you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil
against you falsely on my account.Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=small}
