Thank the Unions

Labor Day was yesterday. Did you thank a union member? I ask because recently there has been a LOT of anti-union rhetoric being thrown around. People seem to forget what led to the unions was: 16 hour work days and the fact that people used to be owned by their employers. Sure, you got paid, but you had to give all your money back to pay for your company provided housing and food. To win the right to not be owned by your employer, people joined unions. And yes, some of them died to gain basic rights for workers. We enjoy Labor Day each year because the US government felt guilty for ordering US Marshalls to shoot and kill workers during the Pullman strike. So the next time you hear someone going on a rant about how horrid unions are, consider how horrid life was for most Americans before they formed the unions.