Labor Day

Labor Day: the big holiday for the working person. As I was growing up, Labor Day meant the Last Hurrah before school started again. To some, it’s the signal that the summer picnic season is almost over. But of course, the first Monday in September should remind us all that men and women have died — and continue to die in many countries — in the fight for justice for the working person.

Most of the world celebrates Labor Day on May 1st, in honor of the Haymarket Martyrs, Chicago anarchists who were executed for the death of a policeman who was killed by a bomb thrown by an unknown person during a rally in support of the Eight Hour Day. Grover Cleveland chose to avoid the May 1st holiday so as not to ‘stir up emotions’ over the Haymarket Incident.

We are not the only Workers Center holding a celebration next Monday, of course. Our friends at Food AND Medicine in Maine, always creative, are having the first of its kind Farmer-Labor Art Show in honor of Labor Day. They have all sorts of cutting-edge programs like their community-supported fisheries shares. If you are ever in Bangor, Maine, check them out.