Publish Time: 2023-09-08 Origin: Site
This year, U.S. Labor Day falls on September 4.The United States paid tribute to nearly 160 million workers on Monday in an annual Labor Day celebration that informally marks the end of summer and, in some communities where the new school year has not yet begun, offers families a last chance to gather with friends and family before school starts.
The national holiday was officially declared in 1894 as a tribute to American workers who often faced harsh conditions in the late 19th century. In those days, workers often worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, and the wages for manual labor were low. Today, backyard barbecues, street parades and a day of relaxation are typical ways to celebrate the holiday.
While labor disputes over working conditions and pay are still common in the U.S., such as the ongoing labor negotiations over the expiration of 146,000 auto workers' contracts, many have morphed into new-age disputes, and not just over worker pay.
Some companies are arguing with their white-collar employees about whether they should be required to return to the workplace fully or at least part of the time. They had previously worked almost entirely from home for more than three years due to the coronavirus pandemic. There are also controversies surrounding emerging applications of AI, how it affects work products, and whether employees will lose their jobs as a result of using AI.
Unionized labor has been declining for years, but union membership still totals more than 14 million people. Democrats rely on unions for a steady stream of political support in elections, and while some of the more conservative workers in some factory towns have shifted their political allegiance to Republicans, their union leaders still largely support Democratic politicians. President Joe Biden, a Democrat who often calls himself the most pro-union president in American history, traveled to the eastern city of Philadelphia on Monday for the annual Tri-State Labor Day Parade. He talked about the importance of unions in American labor history and how the world's largest economy has recovered from the initial shock of the pandemic.
"This Labor Day, we celebrate jobs, jobs that pay good wages, jobs that raise a family, union jobs," Biden told the crowd.
National polls show Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024, is struggling to win voters' confidence in his handling of the economy. The term "Bidenomics," originally used by critics to describe his handling of the economy during his presidency, has been appropriated by Mr. Biden as a positive term to help his campaign.
During Biden's two and a half years in office, the U.S. economy added more than 13 million new jobs, more than any other president during that time, although some of those jobs were to fill positions left vacant by the pandemic.
"As we head into Labor Day, we should step back and think about it and be mindful of the fact that America is now in the midst of one of the strongest periods of job creation in our nation's history," Biden said Friday.
The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 187,000 jobs in August, less than in previous months but still a healthy number at a time when the U.S. Federal Reserve, the country's equivalent of the central bank, is raising interest rates.
The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 3.8 percent from 3.5 percent, the highest level since February 2022, but still near a five-year low. However, economists said there was one encouraging reason for the rise in the unemployment rate: another 736,000 people began looking for work in August, suggesting they thought they could find work even if they were not immediately hired.
The Labor Department counts people as unemployed only if they are actively looking for work, so that accounts for the rise in the unemployment rate.
Biden used the executive announcement to push for organized labor, lauding the unionization efforts of major shopping site Amazon and authorizing federal money to help with union members' pensions. Last week, the Biden administration proposed a new rule that would increase the number of American workers eligible for overtime pay by 3.6 million, the most generous increase in decades.
On the campaign trail, Biden praised union workers for helping build Bridges and repair deteriorating infrastructure as part of a $1.1 trillion public works package passed by Congress in 2021.
On Friday, Biden said, "Unions raise the standards of the workforce and industry, raise wages and strengthen benefits for everyone." You've heard me say it many times: Wall Street didn't build America. The middle class built America, and unions built the middle class."