Labor Day is one of the biggest beach holidays in Venice. June gloom is long gone, and our visitors get a chance to frolic in the surf one last time before the start of school or the seriousness of September work.
House Republicans proved that they belong to the party of the plutocrats by announcing that they plan to celebrate Labor Day by attacking labor. In a memo to his fellow Republicans, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia announced that immediately after the holiday, his colleagues should target the National Labor Relations Board as part of their fall agenda.
The GOP was angered by an NLRB lawsuit against Boeing, which contended that the company violated federal law by moving an assembly line from Washington where the union struck, to South Carolina, a state where union membership cannot be a condition of employment.
Labor Day was spawned by the labor movement. It is a celebration of how workers contribute to the prosperity of all Americans. Getting the paid holiday was a long and hard-fought battle, beginning in New York City in 1882. It took 12 years for it to be established by Congress as a national holiday.
In this country, the labor movement is responsible for the 40-hour workweek, paid vacations and an end to child labor. It deserves better than to be assaulted at a time when it should be honored for its contributions to the public welfare.
