Labor Day is here once again. To quote the founder of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) Samuel Gompers:
“Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country. All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day…is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.”
Thanks to people like Gompers, teachers on Long Island are able to live a good, middle class life. We are able to provide for our children and provide a great education for the children of Long Island.
This Labor Day, take a moment to remember that many of the rights we take for granted, like free public education, an eight hour workday and weekends were fought for by union members. Our unions helped get kids out of the factories and into the classrooms.
I hope that everyone has a Happy Labor Day. Please take a moment this weekend, as you prepare to send your children back to school, to honor the hardworking men and women who fought for these rights and like our brothers and sisters in West Virginia, continue to fight for better wages, more school funding and equal education access.
