Letters: Observing Labor Day
What follows is a copy and paste of the email sent out by the author of this op ed that appeared in the Houston Chronicle, regarding Labor Day.
Richard Shaw is a man I admire whole heartedly, who has worked hard to further the Labor Movement in this city, county, state, and country. His dedication is something to be admired, even more so when you realize how much he continues to help those that want to further this movement.
I can think of nothing finer to do on Labor Day, but to honor him on my blog - and to do so by getting his words out to more people.
Houston ChronicleSeptember 2, 2012
“We are proud of our janitors. We are proud of our labor movement in Houston. There is dignity in all work. Our struggle is for bread and roses for those who labor daily.”
Proud janitors
One hundred years ago, immigrant women were marching in the streets of New York protesting poor and dangerous working conditions in the garment industry.
Protest after protest and march after march, thousands filled the streets. Low pay, harsh supervisors, dangerous working conditions and the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, where 146 women garment workers died, motivated these women to stand up and fight the largest manufacturing conglomerates of their day. No one expected these immigrant women, many of them teenagers, to do this. In fact, hardly anyone even noticed these workers because they spent their long working days locked up in the garment factories of New York. Even the labor movement of the time was sometimes aghast at these tactics.
This movement ultimately reformed a harsh and exploitative garment industry, and many of its leaders continued in the suffragette struggle to win the right to vote for women. They went on to champion safe workplaces and the end of child labor.
In the ’30s the garment workers unions helped the industrial unions organize another industry that disrespected exploited workers. Through collective bargaining, they asked for “bread and roses” - fair wages and dignified working conditions. But oh, was it fought against by big business, and still is.
Spring forward to the streets of Houston in 2012. Hundreds and hundreds of janitors, mostly immigrant women, along with their children, filled our streets. Largely unseen, because they work alone in closed-in buildings, after everyone else has gone home, they toil nightly. They compete against the cleaning tasks they are given, the square footage they must cover and a limited time window (sometimes six hours) to finish each day. They organized themselves and said enough is enough. They want a living wage to provide for their families, health care and a good education for their children. This is what all workers want too.
This Labor Day in 2012 Houston is a special one for all of us in the labor movement. Our movement has propelled generations into the middle class. It has made space for and supported newcomers who are struggling on the cusp of poverty and living wages. Our ranks are replete with examples - oil and chemical workers, school and public employees, building trades, industrial, ship channel workers and others who struggle for a better life. Each gain has lifted every worker’s boat. We even have a workers’ center that reaches out to those who do not have a union in their workplace but who want to organize to fight injustices like wage theft and mistreatment. No other movement has accomplished this.
We are proud of our janitors. We are proud of our labor movement in Houston. There is dignity in all work. Our struggle is for bread and roses for those who labor daily.
Richard C. Shaw, secretary-treasurer, Harris County AFL-CIO Council
12:42 PM | 0 notes | http://tmblr.co/ZynHKxSe29nC
