The Republican Party's... anti Labor Day
TAT readers,
We are rapidly approaching our traditional, end of summer long weekend, and it would pay all working Americans to better understand this quintessential, American holiday. Other nations, also celebrate a very similar holiday on May 1st called International Workers Day, but our version, was born of American-styled Oligarchy. The point of both our version and theirs, are now diametrically opposed, so long as we are living under the Trump, GOP regime, running our government into the ground. No worries, this won’t be simply a history lesson full of dates, names and places but, I will intersperse plenty of historical references and data, as I explain how the current administration, are doing all possible to turn workers into slaves and serfs. Today’s GOP, is the anti-Labor Day party!
Our holiday celebrating the contributions and rights of workers, has been celebrated since 1882 but only became a national holiday in 1894. These dates are significant because they span a period of history, that I have written about extensively over the past couple of years. There are a few well-known names for this period, such as The Gilded Age, The Robber Baron era, the Trust-busting era and most poignantly, the Yellow Journalism era. On a personal level, this holiday weekend falls on the third anniversary of this TAT, publication. I find a bit of poetic symmetry in the overlapping of the holiday to my work here on Substack. All of these named eras, have one immoral thing in common; They are eras when oligarchs, kept workers in inhumane conditions, so that they could profit, control power and be unaccountable to “we the people.”
Today, the Republican Party’s full frontal assault on Union membership, is to attack worker’s rights, and translates into attacking not only union members, but their families as well. Without organized labor’s investment in democracy, voting and dedication to protecting workers rights, there would be no Labor Day. In fact, research shows that union voting programs, encourage far more participation in our democracy. We would still have deplorable working conditions, child labor, no health benefits and a limitless list of other worker protections missing from our lives, were it not for organized labor, formal or otherwise. Throughout the history of organized labor, there has been the ongoing problem of organized crime involvement, yet they still moved workers rights over corporate oligarchs forward most of the time. The fight against organized crime continues, and with some notable successes in the last administration.
"Between 1964 and 2012, Americans’ sentiments toward labor unions and big business moved together, surging and dipping in tandem. The figure below shows how average feelings toward each group changed over time. For instance, during mid-1970s stagflation, Americans cooled to both unions and big business." - Americans favor labor unions over big business now more than ever - Economic Policy Institute - Aaron Sojourner and Adam Reich - May 20, 2025
Now and since roughly 2012, American support for labor unions, has grown substantially, while that support for big business, has declined precipitously. Translated, this means that American workers are sick and tired of being taken advantage of by greedy oligarchs and their monopolies. The Federal minimum wage is still stuck at its 2009 level, of $ 7.25 per hour and very rarely includes a single employee benefit. In today’s price-gouged America, these are nearly slave wages. The Biden administration took several important steps to support workers, receiving the highest grade for labor support, since FDR. The current oligarchical GOP administration, is working even harder, to erase labor support for workers, while concurrently diminishing worker protections.
Whether anyone has a union to represent them or not, today’s worker requires a great deal of support in order to maintain benefits and living wages, just to survive. The current Republican Party resists addressing this issue, as if it were the plague. While that I do not actively support any political party, in the case of supporting America’s workers, I can safely say that Democrats are far more supportive of labor, unions, workers or otherwise, than today’s MAGA GOP. And it’s not even close. When political pundits say that working Republicans vote against their own best interests, the issue of worker’s rights are a primary piece of that conclusion. The GOP continuously chips away at all worker protections.
And the assault on American workers, is not just confined, to organized labor. It’s about every single one of us who work for a living. One core intention of the current administration’s coup, is to return America to the Gilded Age for Oligarchs and monopolies, where American workers live a life, more akin to serfdom, than the opportunities for equality and opportunity ensconced in our founding documents. Although in many cases, European and especially Russian serfdom were very similar to US slavery, its style varied greatly from one European nation to another. Russian serfdom was far more akin to US slavery than most of its similar institutions across Europe. Serfdom survived in Russia until 1861, just two years prior to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
Now here we are, knee deep into the 21st century, and the MAGA Republican Party agenda, is hellbent on returning American workers to some sort of marginalized citizenship, via their systematic abuse of workers. In America, we also have, 27 “right to work states.” Every single one of these states, limits the rights of workers, from a little, to dramatically. My home state of Texas, is one of the most draconian of the 27. The NLRB or National Labor Relations Board, has traditionally been a primary source of protecting worker rights, union or otherwise. And then came Trump and his MAGA GOP. Now the NLRB is but a shadow of its former self and has been defanged, in order to protect Republican oligarchs.
As we all begin pondering time with family and friends, floating rivers, lakes and coastal regions, we won’t encounter near as many foreign travelers around us. The GOP’s sadistic immigration controls and tariffs have taken a huge bite out of the US travel industry. If existing trends prevail, that industry, which provides countless jobs, both permanent and temporary, will lose an estimated $21 B this year, $9B in domestic losses and $12.5B in foreign travel. This hit hasn’t only driven deep anxiety for those in the travel business, but is also driving down, domestic airfares. I cannot remember a time in my life, outside of COVID, that airlines were pushing deals as hard as they are now. Every downturn this significant painfully impacts employment statistics.
Despite glowing predictions from the White House about how cheap gas will be for the holiday weekend, local prices have already begun spiking here in San Antonio, and we generally have some of the lowest fuel prices nationally. Overall, fuel prices are between 10 and 15 cents less than last year, but they are already higher than this time last week. We’ll see what happens tomorrow and Saturday, but for all intents and purposes, there is no data that supports the glowing reports from the Republican administration. Just more of their perpetual “fake news.”
Now, as the GOP continues their assault on working Americans and the organizations that would protect them, we are left with zero other choices, but to stand up against them and remove these fake-patriots, conmen and insurrectionists from office. It is simply a matter of keeping food on our tables and a roof over our heads. The American middle class is not only under a great deal of stress but an administration hellbent on further impoverishing it, makes our nation more unstable, at threat from stronger economies and agitated to the point of rebellion, more than at any time, since the Civil War. As bad as the Great Depression was, it didn’t put as much strain on the unity of our nation, largely due to FDR’s strong leadership and innovation.
Don’t forget that pre-WW II America, didn’t look or behave, very differently than our modern times. First came obscene wealth for the elite classes post WW I, then a bust and finally, intense global economic calamity. This followed by the world’s worst war, completely changed the US’s position in the world and the lives of most Americans, for the better. First we had to protect ourselves from those who caused that horrific conflict, from 1939 through 1945. The GOP still didn’t want to fight Hitler and the political classes in America were already at each other’s throats. Americans on the right, joined the fascists and German American Bund, or rather Nazis in droves. The 1% did just fine while that most Americans were just beginning to see the light at the end of the Great Depression tunnel.
Unlike WW II, the fascists are running the US government and it is us, the working classes that pay the price for the greed of elite wealth. There is not one damn thing American about today’s Republican Party and suppressing the voices and opportunity of all non-wealthy Americans, is even as I write this, causing the coals of rebellion to glow red-hot. If we are to forestall the evils of the Great Depression and that devastating global conflict, the only way is to once again, embrace real American values, while concurrently stopping the subjugation of our citizenry, by the 1%.
Labor Day is explicitly celebrated for just such reasons. America is about equal opportunity for all, never for just a handful of wealthy feudal oligarchs. That is something I hope that all of us will ponder, at least briefly as we celebrate and enjoy this precious American holiday. I will close with a quote from a Spanish Philosopher and essayist named George Santayana, although it is often misattributed to others. We would do well to add today’s essay to your morning coffee, as you enjoy your holiday. Like the ostrich, bad things happen to the bird when their head is in the sand.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - From the series Great Ideas of Western Man. – George Santayana - The Life of Reason - 1905.
My very best for your holiday weekend
Paul
If only we would all remember Santayana’s wisdom. But we live in a time where history and context matter little to most as it is given short shrift in our education system. Then add in the disinformation warfare, and we are a society at large drifting aimlessly, easily captured by malignant narcissists and authoritarians.
Increasingly I am seeing the firewall against the worst abuses and also turning the tide toward adherence to our constitutional norms as the professional officer corps of the military. People like you, Alex Vindman, Mark Hertling, Malcom Nance are the loudest and most coherent voice defending our ideals! From NCOs up the Generals and Admirals, they are leading the way!