Vol. 4, No. 9
September 2017

The Establishment of Labor Day
as a National Holiday
 
by Joan McGann Morris

 
Lawrence E. McGann 1852 - 1928 
  Portrait A F Brooks early 20th Century

Working Women's History Project has a particularly personal connection to Labor Day.  I have been a member of WWHP and writing for it since 1998, so it is with great pride, I would like to honor my great-grandfather, Lawrence E McGann, who along with many others was instrumental to the establishment of Labor Day as a national legal holiday.

Lawrence E McGann, served Illinois as a Congressman in the 53rd Congress and was Chairman of the House Committee on Labor. His biographer, James Gormley, noted that during a time of economic depression, labor strikes and turbulence," Congressmen McGann was devoted to passing legislation for the rights of workers and the establishment of Labor Day as a National holiday. Although celebrated in some states, it took 12 years of work for Labor Day to become a national holiday. in an address, he gave in Chicago celebrating the first National Labor Day September 4, 1894, Congressman McGann spoke eloquently:

"I would speak as a trade unionist.... when we stand together we will win, I say...your salvation, your only hope is the standing together in organization.  Stand together on a single proposition and there is not a representative who will not listen to you with respect."
 
I believe his words are as relevant now as they were then.

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Why We Celebrate Labor Day in September
 By Jess Kozik

Haymarket Riot

In the United States, the first Monday of September is observed as Labor Day. Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894 when President Grover Cleveland signed bill S. 730 into law. The bill was proposed by Sen. James Henderson Kyle of South Dakota and argued for by Rep. Lawrence McGann (D-IL), who sat on the Committee of Labor.

President Cleveland's decision to sign the bill into law came shortly after the Pullman Strike. The strike was ignited when Pullman workers received a 25 percent cut in wages. Anger about worker mistreatment spread like wildfire and erupted with violence.

To end the strike and boycott, a federal injunction was issued and troops were ordered into Chicago to handle the situation. This enraged protesters to the point of violence. Upon being assaulted, national guards fired into a mob of protesters, killing several people.

After the handling of the Pullman Strike, President Cleveland acted fast with the implementation of a day to celebrate workers in order to please his constituents who favored the labor movement. The first Monday of September was selected for the day of celebration as it did have a history with workers' rights.

Another significant day for workers' rights, and the day most countries use to celebrate workers' rights, is May 1st. May 1st is sometimes referred to as May Day. Although May Day already had its own meaning of representing the celebration of Spring, it found itself being connected to the labor movement in the 19th century.

Workers were being severely mistreated with poor working conditions and long hours. The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (now the American Federation of Labor) held a convention in Chicago in 1884. They decided to demand an eight-hour workday starting May 1, 1886.

When that specific May 1st came around, hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike. In the days to come, there were many protests, especially in Chicago. Although the protests started out as peaceful, they grew violent when Chicago police and protesters clashed at the McCormick Reaper Works on May 3rd resulting in the deaths of a few protesters.

The following day a rally was held at Haymarket Square to protest the killing and wounding of the workers by the police. When the police showed up at the rally, an individual threw a bomb into the crowd killing several people. Although the bomb thrower was never identified, eight men believed to be accomplices were arrested, despite an utter lack of evidence. Of the eight, seven received the death sentence and one was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Four of the men were hanged, while one committed suicide, and the remaining three were pardoned a few years later.

All over the world their deaths were met by outrage which spurred a movement to recognize workers' rights by designating May 1st as May Day or International Workers' Day.  It is an official holiday in 66 countries, but the United States is not one of them.

President Cleveland was sure to avoid any attachments to socialist ideas when picking a date to celebrate workers, and in that decision he chose to not emphasize the gruesome reality of those who fought for fair treatment in the work force.

In his report arguing for the holiday, Rep. Lawrence McGann wrote, "By making one day in each year a public holiday for the benefit of workingmen, the equality and dignity of labor is emphasized." Although the holiday succeeds in recognizing the dignity of workers, it leaves the responsibility of remembering the history of those who fought and those who continue to fight for better working conditions in our hands for the next Labor Day, or really any day, because it's not the date that matters most, it's the people.

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CLUW Takes It to the Streets 
by Helen Ramirez-Odell

Taking to the streets
About 500 persons from at least 14 different unions convened in Detroit, Michigan, Sept. 6-9, 2017 for the 19
th Biennial Convention of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW).

With a convention theme of "Taking It to the Streets," delegates rallied in downtown Detroit to raise the minimum wage for all workers. Keynote convention speaker was Nina Turner, President of Our Revolution and a former Ohio Senator. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a video message. Some other speakers were Carmen Berkley, Managing Director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund; and Saru Jayaraman who called for better wages for restaurant workers and others forced to rely on tips.

Jearlean Fleming, Helen Ramirez-Odell, Katie Jordan
Dynamic workshops were held on a variety of issues including "Ending Sexism and Building Union Power," "Human Trafficking in the United States," "Beyond Bias: How We Think, Talk and Act on Race and Difference," and "Breaking the Stereotype."

Forty resolutions were adopted on a variety of issues including voting rights, support for unions, saving public education, health care for all, constitutional equality for women, and standing up for Planned Parenthood.

Elise Bryant was elected the new CLUW National President. She noted that, "It is an honor and a privilege to serve the membership of CLUW as president. I am excited about taking on this work with a fabulous group of women who are smart, savvy, and dedicated trade unionists! We shall rally, we shall sing and we shall overcome - together!" 

The Coalition of Labor Union Women was founded in Chicago in 1974 to address the needs of unorganized working women, and to make unions more responsive to the needs of all women, especially the needs of minority women. CLUW's four objectives are to organize unorganized women, achieve affirmative action in the work place, promote political and legislative action by women in unions, and increase participation and leadership of women in unions.

CLUW's Chicago chapter is headed by Katie Jordan of Workers United. She is also on the board of Working Women's History Project. National dues are $50. Retirees pay $10. For more information and to join National CLUW, go to www.cluw.org.

For information on joining Chicago CLUW contact chapter President Katie Jordan at kw581928@yahoo.com .
 
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"You Have to Organize to Change"
 
Those words were spoken by Kathleen Devine during an interview about activism and her work with the Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Kathleen Devine, known mostly as Kathy, was born on March 25th, 1943, and grew up in River Forest, Illinois. She received a degree in political science from Saint Louis University and then went on to study public affairs in graduate school at George Washington University. Although her time in graduate school was something she found less than satisfying, she states two of her classes that focused on first amendment rights and constitutional law greatly impacted her. She said, "It taught me to think about my rights."

She would go on to work not only for her rights, but the rights of others. She stated that through her attendance at union meetings she learned that "you're not just fighting for you, you're fighting for other people. You know, so you can support them and they can support you."

From the late 1960s up until her death, Devine was engaged in political advocacy. She operated out of Chicago where she organized for and supported the United Farm Workers, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Illinois Nurses Association, Community Investment Corporation, and numerous others.

She also worked tirelessly with the Labor Network Against Apartheid, an organization of American unions standing in solidarity with unions in South Africa. She worked as a coordinator and displayed a deep understanding of the work and focus it takes to organize a movement and keep it going.

Through her work and the work of many other union members, the movement was successful in showing how the power of groups supporting other groups and coming together over a shared issue can create a feeling of empowerment. That feeling of empowerment can lead to people standing up for the issue they care about, creating solutions and working to implement them, because after all, "you have to organize to change."

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Mother Jones Featured at IBAM
(Irish Books, Art and Music) Festival
October 28 and 29, 2017
Irish American Heritage Center

Saturday, October 28 th
1:00 pm   

'Get Off Your Knees': Mother Jones, James Conolly and James Larkin
Lecture by Professor Rosemary Feurer with
Brigid Duffy Gerace performing a reenactment of Mother Jones
 
Two short documentaries,  Mother Jones: America's Most Dangerous Woman , and  Mother Jones and Her Children  will be shown t hroughout Saturday and Sunday. In addition, there will be an exhibit from the Mother Jones Museum Heritage Project from Cork, Ireland, about   Mother Jones, from her childhood in Cork through her long life as a fearless fighter for worker's rights in the U.S.
 
For more information about IBAM, check out https://irish-american.org/ 
 
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