Have Labor Day Off? Thank the Unions!

Well, another Labor Day is upon us. Summer has flown by; already the daylight hours are getting shorter. While the summer stretched out endlessly before us on the 4th of July, there is already a feeling of fall in the air, with the rays of the sun barely burnishing our noses. Yes, it's nearly over, but we still have Labor Day.

Labor Day is more than just another three day weekend. While many commentators are predicting the demise of organized labor, I see only growing pains. After all, Everett is a "labor city"- where else but here to witness its evolution? Far from obsolete, organized labor should be thanked for every fight it ever won. Do you enjoy a forty hour work week? Thank the unions. Do you have paid vacation and sick time? Thank the unions. Have reasonable health insurance? Thank the unions. Do you work in a reasonably safe and clean environment? Thank the unions. These benefits that are such an integral part of our work culture were once unheard of.

Everett it a union city and proud of it. Why shouldn't we be? Unions have been good for Everett workers and Everett workers have been good for unions. And if you think the time of unions has passed--think again. Across the country, scandals at Enron, Worldcom, KMPG, Bristol Meyers Squibb and many others have opened the eyes of working men and women. Not content to defraud their investors, some of these companies have raided their pension funds, leaving retirees with pennies on the dollars. This is a golden opportunity for unions to increase their standing with not only their membership through eagle sharp oversight of pension funds and other benefit and quality of life issues, but also to investors, who could surely use another pair of eyes looking at the bottom line. Someone needs to "mind the store" and it's clear that these companies can't or won't mind themselves, not when greed rules the day.

Like having Labor Day off? Thank a union. Have a good weekend, everyone!