Steelhammer: Football, politicking, and picnics ... it must be Labor Day weekend
Public swimming pools are closing, the Jerry Lewis Telethon is opening, and millions of Americans are spending the long weekend resting up so they can hit the ground running in their search for employment when the workweek resumes on Tuesday.
Public swimming pools are closing, the Jerry Lewis Telethon is opening, and millions of Americans are spending the long weekend resting up so they can hit the ground running in their search for employment when the workweek resumes on Tuesday.
Welcome to Labor Day weekend, 2010!
If you're a West Virginian spending the holiday at a picnic, don't worry if you don't immediately recognize the guy shaking hands with your relatives at the paper plate and plastic silverware end of the table. Chances are he's a candidate trolling for a gathering big enough to make use of a microphone, since Labor Day also marks the start of the high season for politicking.
If I sound a little cynical, consider the holiday's source. President Grover Cleveland designated Labor Day a national holiday in 1894 to make up for the mayhem and bloodshed that followed his decision to celebrate the 4th of July that year by calling in federal troops to break up a strike by rail car and railroad workers.
Assuming the holiday isn't outsourced in the years to come, Labor Day may become a day to reflect on such hard-won but often-bygone workplace practices as pensions, health insurance, holiday bonuses, and un-frozen wages and hiring policies.
But Labor Day still has its bright side.
First of all, it coincides with the start of football season, which helps many of us worker drones forget about the economic yardage we've lost.
And it's a time to remember bad, old Labor Day jokes, like:
What do you get when you place all the cars in the United States end to end? Labor Day weekend.
If a bus station is where a bus stops and a train station is where a train stops, what happens at a workstation?
After what that guy told me, I'm never going to work for him again.
Why? What did he say?
You're fired!
Public swimming pools are closing, the Jerry Lewis Telethon is opening, and millions of Americans are spending the long weekend resting up so they can hit the ground running in their search for employment when the workweek resumes on Tuesday.
Welcome to Labor Day weekend, 2010!
If you're a West Virginian spending the holiday at a picnic, don't worry if you don't immediately recognize the guy shaking hands with your relatives at the paper plate and plastic silverware end of the table. Chances are he's a candidate trolling for a gathering big enough to make use of a microphone, since Labor Day also marks the start of the high season for politicking.
If I sound a little cynical, consider the holiday's source. President Grover Cleveland designated Labor Day a national holiday in 1894 to make up for the mayhem and bloodshed that followed his decision to celebrate the 4th of July that year by calling in federal troops to break up a strike by rail car and railroad workers.
Assuming the holiday isn't outsourced in the years to come, Labor Day may become a day to reflect on such hard-won but often-bygone workplace practices as pensions, health insurance, holiday bonuses, and un-frozen wages and hiring policies.
But Labor Day still has its bright side.
First of all, it coincides with the start of football season, which helps many of us worker drones forget about the economic yardage we've lost.
And it's a time to remember bad, old Labor Day jokes, like:
What do you get when you place all the cars in the United States end to end? Labor Day weekend.If a bus station is where a bus stops and a train station is where a train stops, what happens at a workstation?After what that guy told me, I'm never going to work for him again.Why? What did he say?
You're fired!
nnSince a bright, sunny day is in the forecast for Monday, I plan to apply Groundhog's Day rules to Labor Day:
If I see my shadow, I'll go back to bed and avoid work for the next six weeks.
Meanwhile, take it easy, everyone!
