Labor Day

Hello. I’m Jerry Stewart. This is our Labor Day weekend, and the more I talk with my fellow American citizens about this Labor Day holiday, the more I see just how little we Americans know about it and how it even came to be. Would you like to know more? Of course, you would because “You Are There”.

Over our last 250 years as a Nation, America has grown into the most successful and prosperous nation in the world, and for so many, there is this AmeriCAN “can do” attitude. It’s a powerful attitude that refuses to believe that something can’t be done, and if we ever lose our “can do” spirit, our greatness will decline.

But just what does a can-do spirit have to do with celebrating a day off called Labor Day? Listen to this story.

Once, there was a country boy who was speeding down a country back road in his old jalopy, and as he sped by, a couple of auto execs saw him and began to try and catch up. As the country boy saw them, he stopped.

“Howdy, how are you? What’s up? “The country boy said.

“Just where did you get that car? One of the Auto Execs asked?”

“I made it?” The boy answered.

“What kind of fuel does it run on?” Asked the Auto Exec.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Said the boy.  “It’s something my Daddy made up.”

The Execs growled back, “What’s the gas mileage?

“About 175 miles!

“No, not by the tank – by the gallon!” The Execs were getting really angry.

“That is by the gallon”. The Country Boy bantered back!

“That’s impossible. You can’t do that!” The Auto Execs were yelling now.

With those harsh words barked at him, the country boy slumped way down in his seat and said,

“Gosh, fellas, I’m sorry I did not know that it couldn’t be done”.

And that’s what many are saying today, “Don’t even try. It won’t work!”

But just what about Labor Day? Well, it was around the 1800s when many farmers began leaving their farms and becoming factory workers. This was known as the Industrial Revolution, and there was so much to accomplish that the factories couldn’t keep up – and problems arose.

The Laborers had no say as to their work schedules. The work week for most today is five days per week, but back then it was so often six to seven days per week – and the hours worked today are about eight hours per day – and back then, the workdays were more like 10 hours per day. There was no overtime pay, no paid holidays, no paid vacations. And if a worker tried to negotiate his time and pay, so many were fired, and the factory owners made a blacklist and strike breakers to break the worker spirit, but the workers would not stop. And they went on for so many years, and the laborers began to form Labor Unions. There were labor strikes. It was really hard, but the battle would not stop.

And finally, in 1932 President Franklin Roosevelt passed the National Industrial Recovery Act and so many of the work issues were resolved.

So why do we celebrate Labor Day? To honor and respect and remember those first workers who risked their jobs and their very lives to form the groups and Unions to fight back and not give up. If it wasn’t for their grit and determination to fight for the right of the American workers, we would not have the benefits and pay for our work today.

And now you know why we have a Labor Day holiday.

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

I am a story teller. Since 1998, I have been telling the true stories of our nation and those Americans gone before us.  To say the least, these stories have been well received by Americans, both young and old.  So, here’s where the stories have taken me.  In 1998, I was broadcasting my stories on just one radio station in Washington State.  Today, from Texas 15 years later, these programs are now broadcast through a syndicated radio network to over 400 radio stations all across America, with literally millions of listeners.