Made Fresh Today- Sept 3 '07 - Workers

Labour Day


This friendly plastic creation of three workers is based on a Soviet propaganda poster which said "no lazy workers". All these figures are heaving large hammers. Not many people do heavy labour like that that I know of, except some other artisans. My blacksmithing friend definitely heaves iron. She is a real exception. Some woodworkers do; tradespeople I suppose, and of course miners. I have a soft spot for the miner growing up in the Nickel Capital of the World, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, and I cannot imagine doing that job without a union behind you. What a hard job.

Here's another Soviet poster that I like:

The translation on this one is "Be careful with your uniform" Do those who wear uniforms sew them like this? Someone must do that. Or do they just get new uniforms when they rip or wear out?

I was curious about the origins of Labour Day and it seems we Canadians started it. Here's a quote from The Canadian Encyclopedia

Labour Day, honouring organized labour, is a legal holiday observed throughout Canada on the first Monday in September. The contribution of organized labour to Canadian society has been recognized since 1872, when parades and rallies were held in Ottawa and Toronto. The earliest American labour parades were not held until 1882 and in Europe Labour Day has been celebrated since 1889 on May 1, thereby merging traditional May Day festivities with labour celebrations. This spring date was briefly observed in Canada, but the North American need for a long weekend at the end of summer was recognized by Parliament in 1894.

Additional information about Labour Day can be found here.

I can't remember ever seeing a Labour Day Parade. Why don't we have these anymore? I can't think of a time when we actually need some workers standing up for themselves. More and more people work 2 and 3 jobs. No one seems to get benefits anymore, let alone pensions. It all seems harder. I've never regret working for myself. I've managed to bypass that whole thing but it comes with its own costs to chose to live as I do.