Remember our brothers and sisters suffering because of Dorian

By MARSHALL WARD

Today, many of us celebrated Labor Day with a picnic. It is unofficially the last weekend of summer.

Most may not know that P.J. McGuire, vice president of the American Federation of Labor, suggested the first Monday in September would be an ideal date for a public celebration of organized labor because of good weather and because the date was between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving.

 In 1887, Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day an official public holiday. By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty U.S. states celebrated Labor Day.

The original celebration was to demonstrate organized labor’s strength and solidarity. Today all U.S. states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia celebrate Labor Day.

Labor has contributed mightily to the quality of life in the U.S. even though there has been an all-out, perpetual war against labor since the inception of our republic.

Many important programs have been promoted by our U.S. labor movement including:

• Passage of the Social Security Act
• Civil Rights Acts
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Occupational Safety & Health Act
• Medicare and Medicaid

As President of the Charleston, S.C., Federation of Teachers Local 2434 for about 10 years, my proudest moments were helping our members who were cafeteria workers, bus drivers, secretaries, teacher assistants, and teachers after Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Solidarity and unity kept us sane.

Let’s remember our brothers and sisters that are suffering as a result of Hurricane Dorian in the Southeast.