Thoughts about Labor Day, now 130 years since its naming.
Workers in 1894 had a need for a day that proclaimed their contribution to the increasingly industrialized American economy where the working day was long and could include Saturdays, in factories that were unhealthy and unsafe.
Wages were minimal and if you were hurt, well, you were hurt. Teenagers and those even younger were employed.
It was a time at the end of the century when mechanization was making mass production possible to the detriment of the workforce. There was no safety net for individuals of any age, or for families. Federal protections, even in stages, would be years in the future.
Today the frame of reference is a decade, or so, accelerated by COVID-19, which arrived almost five years ago, and its ramifications. At the largest corporations some part of the week is still at-home, communication among fellow workers and with clients across short and long distances a plus and a negative. Expect communication with the visual component to continue, something that can serve a large number of participants with a lower commitment of time and travel. Something about even limited visual contact adding to communication.
Front counter wages have jumped. What might have been $11 or $12 an hour to start five years ago pre-COVID-19 is now $17 or $18. Not enough, certainly, for anything approaching a full life, but a better match even against increased living expenses.
When job availability plunged early in the virus and federal support was plentiful, employees apparently rethought what they wanted to do. Significantly higher wages were – and are – required to bring them back. More will be written about this.
Immigrants are an ongoing significant component of the economy and American life, and federal mismanagement exacerbated by political posturing has both prevented their full benefit and been unfair to those involved. We should know who’s coming across the borders, and those who do should have their status determined in a timely fashion.
Those windshield washers at urban intersections would be in more productive and rewarding positions if the rules provided earlier work credentials.
The need for a four year college degree is being increasingly challenged, given its cost and then uncertain immediate workplace application. Fewer job postings require a degree, and Colorado now covers the cost of the first two years of post-high school tuition for those who qualify.
Certificates recognizing accomplishment in narrow and employable fields have long been offered by community colleges, and now much more so by four-year institutions to accompany a four-year degree.
But does hiring a 20-year-old with a certificate bring the same benefits to the workplace as a 22-year-old who may have received his four-year degree plus a certificate from an institution in another city or in another state? The more formative the experiences between 18 and 22, the better.
On Monday, take a moment to reflect on what employment was like for millions on both sides of the turn of the 20th century, not that long ago. Employment can be more satisfying today than it often is, but its conditions have come a long way.
