The Devil Is Here in These Hills by James R. Green

Mass strikes for the 8-hour workday rocked the country. That hope can be heard today in the speeches of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and union leaders like Trumka.Ĭlass-conscious militancy was a hallmark of those first marches. But at the height of the Gilded Age, Labor Day was a clarion call to all citizens.Ī majority of Americans still believed the capitalist drive for domination could be halted, that the “producers” could prevail over the “parasites” (the “robber barons” - bankers and speculators, today’s hedge fund managers), and that democracy would triumph over plutocracy. That hasn’t changed.įor the last century, Labor Day events have served primarily as occasions for politicians to make their pitches. In subsequent years, political candidates flocked to Labor Day parades and picnics and crowded speakers’ platforms to seek union endorsements and votes. The demonstration, initiated by New York City labor unions five years earlier, was meant to display the pride and power of the organized trades men and to win support for the new union movement from both elected officials and the general public. “ It was a grand pageant,” The Boston Daily Globe reported on its front page, “a veritable festival of joy recognized by the people of Boston.” Thousands of Bostonians lined the streets to salute these well-dressed union craftsmen. On September 7, 1887, 10,000 union members marched through the streets of Boston celebrating what they called Labor Day.Ĭonsider now this day in history: On September 7, 1887, 10,000 union members marched through the streets of Boston celebrating what they called Labor Day. And in Pittsburgh, Vice President Biden will march with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in one of this Labor Day’s few street demonstrations. They will cheer Senator Elizabeth Warren’s assault on Wall Street and her defense of the exploited middle class. Today, Boston union leaders and members will hear President Obama speak of his executive efforts on behalf of union rights. (AP) This article is more than 7 years old.

Railroad workers were among the first groups of laborers to organize. Freight Handlers parade to a union meeting in 1882 in New York.

The Devil Is Here in These Hills by James R. Green