Today is Labor Day.
Many states bar collective bargaining.
Many have passed laws intended to extinguish or cripple labor unions.
Today, union membership in the United States has fallen to the lowest point in 97 years, according to the New York Times.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the total number of union members fell by 400,000 last year, to 14.3 million, even though the nation’s overall employment rose by 2.4 million. The percentage of workers in unions fell to 11.3 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 2011, the bureau found in its annual report on union membership. That brought unionization to its lowest level since 1916, when it was 11.2 percent, according to a study by two Rutgers economists, Leo Troy and Neil Sheflin.
Labor specialists cited several reasons for the steep one-year decline in union membership. Among the factors were new laws that rolled back the power of unions in Wisconsin, Indiana and other states, the continued expansion by manufacturers like Boeing and Volkswagen in nonunion states and the growth of sectors like retail and restaurants, where unions have little presence.”
Unions have also been hurt by outsourcing and free trade, which allows manufacturers to move jobs to low-wage countries.
Unions were a major stepping stone into the middle class for many immigrants and poor people, enabling them to have a living wage and decent working conditions.
With the loss of unions has come growing income inequality.
In most states, workers are on their own, with no one to speak up for their interests.
In honor of Labor Day 2013, I am posting some of the most famous labor songs, and you will see them pop up over the next few hours.
They should not be forgotten.
As conditions worsen for working people in the United States, they may be needed again.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reports from friends on how cherished their labor is, Atlanta teachers are furloughed today.
Thank you Diane, thank you.
Very well worded. Thank you. I hope this blog is noticed and read by the people who need to read it!!!
Thank you for the “wakeup call.” As consumers, we need to exert more energy to look for the union label when we buy. And as teachers, we need to be sure union history remains in our schools’ history curriculum. The lack of knowledge about unions among young people is frightening.
Ironically, 2 minutes after my post, I received an email from Gov. Cuomo thanking the workers of New York. Did someone say chutzpah??
How about calculated liar?
It doesn’t seem he knows what side he wants to be on? He blows where the wind does like they all do. This is what we elect these days. What does it say about us? It’s a shame!!!!
It says much more about our society when most of our choices to elect care more about themselves, money, greed and power. They all blow with the wind.
So true.
“In honor of Labor Day 2013, I am posting some of the most famous labor songs…”
As a member of the working poor who has never belonged to a teacher’s union, and who has felt perpetually exploited, the following is my contribution to today’s songs. (God be willing, may no one else ever have to experience this again) “Chain Gang”
Sooo appropriate!
In Honor of Labor Day, the Coalition to Defend Public Education (Providence), and the RI Badass Teachers are holding a rally in downtown Providence–Labor Day Rally for Justice in Public Education. We will have speakers from the community–teachers, retired teachers, parents, and concerned citizens. We will talk about the callous attempt to privatize public education for private gain. We will talk about the inappropriateness of the Common Core State (sic) Standards. We will recite limericks, perform a rap, and sing this song that I transcribed from Barry Lane’s Cabaret at Occupy the DOE 2.0 in D.C. last spring. (song to follow)
The five day work week is gone. Even teachers are being pressured into working Saturdays either to baby sit for students who have discipline problems or have fallen behind in credits or need special tutoring or re-teaching during what Administrators happily call Saturday School. The schools get hundreds of dollars per student and pay the teacher a small fraction of that, maybe $18 per hour per class which may be 35 or more if the Administration can get enough students to attend. School Administrations make a nice profit, but who are they spending this surplus on during these times of cutting teacher pay? This must have been something created by one of those Capitalists like Bill Gates. I think Micro-soft might use something like this to rate their workers. Lets see, cut teachers pay, then force them to have to work Saturdays to pay for their home mortgage if they have a home or to pay their ever increasing electric or gas bills which seem to increase without any public input. Is this a tax increase? Oh No, it is Capitalism and a group of wealthy people are getting their well deserved profit from their investment. No one gets a profit from any Educational System, unless you live in a foreign country like Germany. So we should not invest in them? Next idea will be Sunday School and We are not talking about Church related Sunday School even though someone may figure out a way to pay the Churches to do it for less and of course it will be more successful if the state pays them enough money and we can do this with vouchers and give the money directly to the family to use at the Church or school of their choice. I wonder why Arne Duncan hasn’t imposed this idea on schools, yet? Oh, he is currently telling the President to fire missiles at Syria and reward with RTTT grands to the different ships depending on how well they perform and close or mothball the worst performing ships and fire all the crew or replace 25% of the crew with SFA (Solders For America) who could be recruiting from the unemployed. He told the President to give Waivers to the ships willing to go ahead without Congressional Approval. No problem, HE is either The Dictator or some GOD, who knows all the correct answers and HE said let the Capitalist System work as it should.
Song from Barry Lane’s Cabaret at
Occupy the DOE 2.0 in D.C., April 4, 2013
Sung to the tune of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”
Superficial unrealistic rigor is atrocious
Yet so many education reformers propose this.
If you drill them hard enough,
They’ll stay upon their toeses.
Superficial unrealistic rigor is atrocious.
We shouldn’t be afraid to speak when policies seem bad.
We have the best democracy the world has ever had.
Why do they keep on scolding us on how we run our class?
Take those mandates and those tests and …
Help us stay on task!
Superficial unrealistic rigor is atrocious.
What qualifies you to be the education Moses?
Testing is not teaching,
We don’t buy the mass hypnosis,
Superficial unrealistic rigor is atrocious.
We knew this child named Billie
His life had not been kind.
He was a child that stingy folks had (?) left far far behind.
A caring teacher came one day and reached this little boy.
So reading, writing, ‘rithmetic is this lad’s pride and joy!
Super teachers always know connection is where hope is.
Let them guide their classrooms with a student-centered focus.
Please untie their hands and lose this data hocus-pocus.
Super teachers always know connection is where hope is.
Super teachers always know connection is where hope is.
Super teachers always know connection is where hope is.
If you’re feeling sad and blue
This song will help you cope with
Superficial unrealistic rigor that’s atrocious!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the song! Please get it posted to You Tube!!!
THANK YOU!
Thank Barry Lane and United Opt Out National! My singing is not ready for prime time, but I’m sure everyone knows the tune. Please spread the song!
I love your lyrics. They lift the spirits and
show the heart of teaching and learning.
As someone once said, they afflict the
comfortable and comfort the afflicted.
Please post them on Facebook and
share them with Nancy Papas of Indianapolis.
I’ll share them throughout Indiana.
“Unions have also been hurt by outsourcing and free trade, which allows manufacturers to move jobs to low-wage countries.”
Public sector funding has been “touched” by outsourcing as well.
Allowing manufactures to move jobs to low-wage countries is half of the equation.
Consumer Demand is the other half.
Jobs are an outgrowth of sales, which are a function of aggregate demand.
IF 70% of the US economy relies on consumption (Consumer Demand), and
THAT demand supports jobs in low-wage countries, HOW can it NOT have an
impact on the number of remaining “Hosts”(Funders) of the Public Sector?
While you “Celebrate” Labor Day, do you put your money where you mouth is?
Is your Economy of choice an extension of “For the Children”?
Perhaps it would be best if we put up tarrif walls to keep imported goods and services out of the country or even modified the commerce clause so that richer states would not have to worry about goods and services produced in the poorer regions of the country.
The five day work week is gone. Even teachers are being pressured into working Saturdays either to baby sit for students who have discipline problems or have fallen behind in credits or need special tutoring or re-teaching during what Administrators happily call Saturday School. The schools get hundreds of dollars per student and pay the teacher a small fraction of that, maybe $18 per hour per class which may be 35 or more if the Administration can get enough students to attend. School Administrations make a nice profit, but who are they spending this surplus on during these times of cutting teacher pay? This must have been something created by one of those Capitalists like Bill Gates. I think Micro-soft might use something like this to rate their workers. Lets see, cut teachers pay, then force them to have to work Saturdays to pay for their home mortgage if they have a home or to pay their ever increasing electric or gas bills which seem to increase without any public input. Is this a tax increase? Oh No, it is Capitalism and a group of wealthy people are getting their well deserved profit from their investment. No one gets a profit from any Educational System, unless you live in a foreign country like Germany. So we should not invest in them? Next idea will be Sunday School and We are not talking about Church related Sunday School even though someone may figure out a way to pay the Churches to do it for less and of course it will be more successful if the state pays them enough money and we can do this with vouchers and give the money directly to the family to use at the Church or school of their choice. I wonder why Arne Duncan hasn’t imposed this idea on schools, yet? Oh, he is currently telling the President to fire missiles at Syria and reward with RTTT grands to the different ships depending on how well they perform and close or mothball the worst performing ships and fire all the crew or replace 25% of the crew with SFA (Solders For America) who could be recruiting from the unemployed. He told the President to give Waivers to the ships willing to go ahead without Congressional Approval. No problem, HE is either The Dictator or some GOD, who knows all the correct answers and HE said let the Capitalist System work as it should.
Another “Government” solution?
I repeat: Consumer Demand is the other half.
I should add “Sing your heart out!” to my list of tips for starting the school year strong. Happy Labor Day to all: http://alexandramiletta.blogspot.com/2013/08/dumbledores-army.html
You might want to check out this blog post about the reality of the hard work teachers do.
Keep your walking shoes ready and your voice in tune. Business will begin to feel our pain when we can’t afford to buy their stuff and we learn to do without. I am ready to march and sing. We also need to be a lot more careful with our votes.
The five day work week is gone. Even teachers are being pressured into working Saturdays either to baby sit for students who have discipline problems or have fallen behind in credits or need special tutoring or re-teaching during what Administrators happily call Saturday School. The schools get hundreds of dollars per student and pay the teacher a small fraction of that, maybe $18 per hour per class which may be 35 or more if the Administration can get enough students to attend. School Administrations make a nice profit, but who are they spending this surplus on during these times of cutting teacher pay? This must have been something created by one of those Capitalists like Bill Gates. I think Micro-soft might use something like this to rate their workers. Lets see, cut teachers pay, then force them to have to work Saturdays to pay for their home mortgage if they have a home or to pay their ever increasing electric or gas bills which seem to increase without any public input. Is this a tax increase? Oh No, it is Capitalism and a group of wealthy people are getting their well deserved profit from their investment. No one gets a profit from any Educational System, unless you live in a foreign country like Germany. So we should not invest in them? Next idea will be Sunday School and We are not talking about Church related Sunday School even though someone may figure out a way to pay the Churches to do it for less and of course it will be more successful if the state pays them enough money and we can do this with vouchers and give the money directly to the family to use at the Church or school of their choice. I wonder why Arne Duncan hasn’t imposed this idea on schools, yet? Oh, he is currently telling the President to fire missiles at Syria and reward with RTTT grands to the different ships depending on how well they perform and close or mothball the worst performing ships and fire all the crew or replace 25% of the crew with SFA (Solders For America) who could be recruiting from the unemployed. He told the President to give Waivers to the ships willing to go ahead without Congressional Approval. No problem, HE is either The Dictator or some GOD, who knows all the correct answers and HE said let the Capitalist System work as it should.
Diane — Thanks for the multiple Labor-Day-related posts. The Washington Post, traditionally a liberal newspaper, completely ignored Labor Day in its editorials and instead printed a long editorial praising Louisiana’s school voucher program! Guess the WaPo never recovered from its battles with the printing pressmen back in the 1970s-1980s.
And let’s celebrate the studies that prove unionized public schools do better than those that are not.
Another part of Amerikan hypocrisy. It should now be we hate Organized Labor Day as that would be truth in advertising but being the U.S. we like to lie to ourselves until it is too late as with the Syrian thing as with Vietnam and all of our other foo faa’s. It is time for the people to get control again. It is our country after all not just for a few elites as they are trying to convert it too. Until we can look into the mirror and see ourselves as we really are we will continue to do wrong for all and that is a tragedy of immense proportions.