Happy Labor Day From AFSCME

A little humor, albeit NSFW humor, for you on Labor Day, with a reminder of all we public union sector thugs do, even for you haters:

Labor Day In Fitzwalkerstan 2012

So today was Labor Day.

Not that you'd know it from the local paper. The only way one could tell it was Labor Day from the paper would be the Labor Day sales ads and one small blurb at the bottom of the entertainment section saying that Laborfest was today.

You wouldn't know it from the Republicans either, unless you count Paul Ryan using the holiday for shilling for his campaign swag. Like Romney's and the Koch's and Adelson's hundreds of millions of dollars weren't enough.

Well, you do have Lance Burri, Glenn Grothman's chief of staff, cracking jokes about Labor Day and women as well. (Grothman is a much better fit for the lying, misogynistic Burri than his previous boss, Mary Lazich, who is just stupid.)*

I'm not surprised that we have heard anything from Walker or the rest, since they've declared open war on the working men and women of Wisconsin and are poised to enact Right To Work But Not Get Paid For It legislation at the beginning of the new year. They also don't want to attract attention to the fact that Walker has lost more jobs than he has created since he's taken office and imposed his anti-Wisconsin agenda.

My colleague, Meg, did a very nice write up about the true meaning and importance of labor day. She listed just some of the many things that organized labor has brought into being:

Weekends.
Health insurance.
Breaks.
Paid vacations and sick leave.
Time off.
Workers Compensation.
Unionization of the workplace.
8 hour work days.
End of exploitative child labor.
Women's workplace rights.
End of workplace discrimination

I would add a few things to that.

One would be that unions also help prevent retaliation by the employers. The end result of losing this right will be one of two things.

One, the good workers will move on to other jobs, and other states, where they can be treated with respect and be allowed personal freedom to do what they want on their own time. You will be then left with the incompetent suck-ups, like most of Walker's cronies.

The other possibility is that these issues, will be resolved in the courts, costing the employers a lot more money than if they had a grievance procedure in place.

I would also point out that unions benefit everyone, whether they work in the public or the private sector and whether or not they are even union members. Unions, by negotiating with the employers, are able to set a prevailing wage. Non-union shops then will have to match those salaries and benefits or risk losing their best workers to the union shops.

This is why the so-called "right to work" states tend to have, on average, salaries that are $5,000 to $6,000 less than unionized states. I would also point out that with the higher salaries, people are able to buy more things and help stimulate and support the economy. That is exemplified here in Fitzwalkerstan. As Walker has taken money away from the workers, the economy has tanked and there are less businesses and jobs than when he took over as governor. In other words, it ain't working!

Jake at his Playhouse demonstrates how the unions have kept the middle class strong and that there is a direct correlation between the weakening of the unions and the lowering of wages and the diminishing of the middle class.

I would also point out, as I did last year, the US Department of Labor's explanation of the history of Labor Day (emphasis mine):

he form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

It is not shocking at all that as the country has moved more to a corporate nation status, thanks to the Republicans and corporate Democrats, that the economy has gone in the toilet and we are still mired in a recession, the second one in the past decade.

If Romney, Ryan, Walker, Chris Abele and the rest of them really wanted to go back to the good old days when jobs were much more plentiful and people were able to achieve the American dream, they'd be working with the unions and not against them.

*BTW, someone with more time and money than I might want to do an Open Record's request on Burri's state computer.

Labor Day Events Around The State

From the AFL-CIO:

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend at celebrations in Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Janesville, Kenosha, La Crosse, Madison, Marinette, Menasha, Milwaukee, Neenah, Oshkosh, Racine and Wausau. Unless otherwise stated, events will take place on Monday, September 3. See below for a complete list of times and locations.

Eau Claire: Labor Day Picnic at Phoenix Park, Riverfront Terrace. Solidarity walk will begin at 10:30am on the corner of Gray Street and S. Farwell. Short program at 11:00am followed by picnic and prizes from noon until 3:00pm.

Fond du Lac: Labor Day Parade and Picnic at Lakeside Park on Oven Island. The Fond du Lac Labor Day Parade begins at 11:00am. Route follows Rees and Main Streets to Lakeside Park. Picnic, 1:00pm to 5:00pm.

Green Bay: Labor Day Picnic, 11:00am to 4:30pm, Bay Beach Amusement Park.

Kenosha: Laborfest, 91st. St. & 22nd Ave. The annual Kenosha Laborfest features booths from all labor organizations in the Kenosha area. Raffle prizes, beer tent and activities for the whole family. Rain or Shine!

Janesville: Laborfest, September 1st, 2nd and 3rd at 1795 Lafayette St. Music, rides, bike show, craft show, mud volley ball, car display, parade and more! http://www.laborfest.org/

La Crosse: The Labor Day celebration starts with a ten-block family-friendly parade at 10:00am beginning at the intersection of Gillette Street and Kane Street. Followed by a celebration at Copeland Park with free games for kids, face painting, and other activities.

Madison: Annual Laborfest celebration at South Central Federation of Labor, 1602 S. Park St. Madison, 12:00pm to 5:00pm.

Marinette: Labor Day Picnic, Marinette City Park, 12:00pm-5:00pm.

Milwaukee: Labor Day Parade & Laborfest. March starts at 11:00am at Zeidler Union Square Park and continues to Summerfest Grounds. Laborfest will run from noon until 5:00pm.

Neenah/Menasha: Labor Day Parade and Picnic. The parade will begin at 10:00am at Curtis Reed Square in Menasha. It will be followed by a picnic celebration at the Neenah Labor Temple, 157 S. Green Bay Rd, Neenah, 54956.

Oshkosh: Labor Day Picnic and Car Show at South Park in Oshkosh. Event runs 11:00am to 5:00pm.

Racine: Laborfest, 12:00pm to 5:00pm, Franksville Park, 9700 Northwestern Ave, corner of Highway K and H, Caledonia.

Wausau: Labor Day Parade begins at 4:00pm on the corner of W. Wausau Ave and ends at the Wausau Labor Temple, 318 South 3rd Ave. There will be a food drive collecting non-perishable food items and cash donations to be donated to the Neighbors Place.

Have a great Labor Day!

Of Wingers, Rhetoric and Hypocrisy

The right wing sites, including the usual suspects of the Cheddarsphere is all abuzz about what Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. allegedly said at a Labor Day Rally in Michigan.  They are jumping all over Hoffa's line of "let's take these sons of bitches out and give America back to America where we belong,:" and claiming it as an example of "union thugs" and calls for violence.

They hypocrisy of their faux outrage is breathtaking.

First off all, the spin is more than a little false. It turns out the speech they're getting their undies in a bundle about was highly edited by Faux News (no word if the final footage included palm trees).  When one looks at the entire segment of speech, Hoffa was referring to taking them out at the election box.

Secondly, if you look through the commentary of most right wing blogs, including the cited usual suspects, you'll see just as bad if not worse.

Indeed, if you look at a certain comment left at a post that Daddio29 wrote on Saturday, you would find this love note addressed to me:

The criminal investigation the troll is referring to is the political retaliation that CRG (Criminal Republican Goons) tried to do to last year, in a failed effort to get me to shut up, accusing me of blogging on county time on county computers on Labor Day, Memorial Day and other sorted time off.  This was proven to be false and they had to use falsified evidence to even get it that far.

But the best part is the You Tube link, which leads to an audio clip of a shotgun firing.  (BTW, that's the second threat that troll has left for me, but who's counting?)

An interesting aspect about Daddio leaving that death threat up is that he did remove a post from the troll which included a couple of racist slurs in it.

In a winger's depraved mind, even they have a subtle idea of right versus wrong, or at least have learned to avoid the consequences of being revealed as a racist.  Unfortunately, they haven't evolved too much since they are more concerned about the perceived threat of violence where none exist as opposed to a direct death threat, which they are absolutely comfortable with, as long as they have the Republicans Golden Rule* to fall back on.

*The Republican Golden Rule: It's Only OK If A Republican Does It (IOOKIARDI).

Quote Of The Day

Taken from a friend's acebook posting about the Wausau Labor Day Parade:

Of course there were GOP supporters @ the Wausau Labor Day Parade. Their Minnesota license plates let us know that...

I guess it was too far to drive from Illinois.

Happy Labor Day!

Wishing a safe and happy Labor Day to all my fellow working men and women in Milwaukee, in Wisconsin and throughout the country.

"The only effective answer to organized greed is organized labor." -- Thomas R. Donahue

Labor Day Events Around The State

September 5, 2011 Labor Day Events

Eau Clare: 10:00 am parade beginning at Longfellow School. Rally and picnic at Phoenix Park, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Fond du Lac: Parade and picnic, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Lakeside Park, Oven Island.

Fox Valley: 10:00 am parade beginning at Milwaukee St., Menasha. 11:00 am to 3:00 pm picnic with live music at the Neenah Labor Temple, 157 S. Green Bay Road, Neenah

Green Bay: Annual Labor Day Family Picnic, 11:00 am to 4:40 pm, Bay Beach Park

Kenosha: Kenosha Laborfest 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm, St. Therese Picnic Grounds, 9005 22nd Ave

La Crosse: 10:00 am parade beginning on north side. Picnic to follow at Copeland Park

Madison: Annual Labor Day Celebration, 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm, Madison Labor Temple, 1602 S. Park St

Marinette: Labor Day Picnic, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, City Park

Milwaukee: 11:00 a.m. parade beginning at Ziedler Park, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. Laborfest at Summerfest Grounds

Oshkosh: Labor Day Picnic and car show, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, South Park

Racine: Racine County Laborfest, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Franksville Park, 9700 Northwestern Ave

Wausau: Labor Day Parade, 4:00 p.m. beginning at W. Wausau Ave between 1st and 3rd Ave

This Should Happen In Every Community

Every city, town, and village in the state, in the country really, needs to follow Wausau's example:

Newsline 9 has learned Rep. Sean Duffy has been told he is not allowed in this year's Labor Day parade in Wausau.

Duffy's office received that news earlier this week from parade organizers. His office was also told no Republicans will be allowed this year.

And the money quote:

"Usually they've been in the parade, but it seems like they only want to stand with us one day a year, and the other 364 days they don't really care," said Randy Radtke, president of the Council. The Council is made up of about 30 local unions from the Marathon County area.

In a statement, Radtke added that parade is intended to celebrate working men and women and what the labor movement has given them: weekends, a 40-hour work week, child labor protection and a safe working environment.

"It should come as no surprise that organizers choose not to invite elected officials who have openly attacked worker's rights or stood idly by while their political party fought to strip public workers of their right to collectively bargain," Radtke said.

I wonder if any community is going to be so myopic and/or masochistic as to allow Scott Walker into their Labor Day events. They could become the pariahs of the state in a second if they do.

Happy Labor Day

Have a happy and safe Labor Day.


As you sit around enjoying a good barbeque, watching the MDA telethon, or whatever other plans you have, remember to thank a union worker.

Without the unions, as Cory Liebmann pointed out last year, some of things people take for granted which came from the blood, sweat, tears and sometimes the very lives of union workers:

Here are just a handful of examples that come to my mind: The Eight Hour Workday, The Weekend, Child Labor Laws, Basic Workplace Safety Laws, Basic Benefits Like Vacation time, Paid Sick Days and Health Insurance.

And if you think unions have outlived their usefulness, look at how far things have deteriorated, such as the diminishing middle class, since the well- moneyed special interests have been working to weaken the unions and the labor laws they fought for.