You can always count on the good folks at Fair.org and their podcast Counterspin to give you the real story hiding behind the corporate media hype.
In her post ‘Invisibilizing the Workers Who Actually Do the Work’, Janine Jackson offers some history on the closest thing the US has to when we know as a “Bank Holiday”, namely today.
It’s presented by corporate media as, most importantly, a long weekend with a parade—or, more seriously, as a holiday fought for by US trade unions to honor American workers. But the day has more complex origins. A national holiday had been a goal of US labor—several states already celebrated—but Grover Cleveland declared Labor Day in the midst of an attack by federal troops on striking Pullman railway workers, leading many to see it as an attempt to appease workers more than honor them.
Some fascinating stuff there. The post is an edited transcript of the podcast which is well worth a listen.
Oh and another thing…the US Presidential race is meant to crank up another gear after Labor Day – just sayin’
First Person Plural 