Celebrate Labor Day weekend at the state’s only labor museum

Monroe is the place to be this Labor Day weekend, and the highlight of the day is the dedication of the new neon sign at the Monroe County Labor History Museum, in downtown Monroe on Saturday, the only labor museum in the state.

The museum in the historic Phillip Murray Building at 41 W. Front St. - named in honor of Philip Murray, the first president of the United Steelworkers of America - is dedicated to Michigan’s long and rich history of organized labor. Organized labor brought us the weekend, the 40 hour week, overtime pay, workplace safety standards, health insurance, unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation and decent wages.

Lt. Gov. John Cherry will be the keynote speaker at 5 p.m., but before that there will be tours, an cream social and a moonwalk beginning at noon.

The Monroe County Council CIO Social and Welfare Association has been working on the restoration and improvement of the only labor museum in the state since 2001, and in February of 2007 it opened for business. There have been monetary donations - and they certainly can use more, but most of the work was done by the donated labor of union skilled tradesmen. It has been a work in progress, and a labor of love.

Bill Conner, the president of the Monroe County Council CIO Social and Welfare Association and the museum curator, said one of the biggest missions of the museum will be to educate children on the role labor has played in creating the middle class and improving the lot of workers; something that has been taken for granted.

But that’s not all of the celebrations going on in in Monroe on Saturday to celebrate the huge contribution of organized labor. A 5-mile Labor Day walk from Sterling State Park to St. Mary's Park will step off at 10 a.m.

The downtown barbecue will begin around noon, and downtown restaurants will set up in tents so festival-goers can enjoy outdoor dining. Music will also start at noon on a stage at E. Front and Washington and go into the night. Also throughout the day, local artists will set up booths to sell their creations and nonprofit agencies will be on hand to tell visitors about their services. There will be face-painting and other activities.

Labor Day is, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. On June 28 1894 Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

Celebrate Labor Day and unions contribution to the country

With the Republican assault on labor unions and the middle class going full bore and Labor Day just around the corner, it’s as good a time as any to look at what Labor Day really means, what it did for the country and how it came about.

I’m sure for anti-worker types like Leon Drolet, Zarko and the rest of the rightwing bloggers, Labor Day is just another day for a cookout, a telethon and a Labor Day sale at Wal-Mart. But there is no disputing that labor unions and trade organizations created the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known. While picnics and cookouts are part of the holiday, it has certainly lost some of its meaning in the 125 previous Labor Days.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. However, there is some dispute over when the first Labor Day actually occurred.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." Others contend the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882. However, it has become accepted that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country. As the years passed local town boards and city councils adopted ordinances making Labor Day as an official holiday, and individual states began to follow suit.

By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

Here in Michigan there are many activities and events where you can show your support to the people who raised the standard of living for every American and created the middle class. Here are a few events. If you know of any events that I left out, please feel free to add them:

The Michigan Young Democrats are inviting people to march with them in the 2007 Labor Day Parade in Detroit on Monday. The staging begins at 2741 Trumbull at 8 a.m. It is one of the biggest and oldest Labor Day parades in the nation.

In Hamtramck a highlight of the annual city festival will be the dedication of the Dodge Main state historical marker at 11 a.m. Monday at Veterans Memorial Park on Jos. Campau, south of Holbrook in Hamtramck. Dodge Main was one of the largest factories in the world. The annual Polish Day Parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Jos. Campau.

Perhaps Michigan’s signature event, The 50th Annual Mackinac Bridge Walk, begins at 7 a.m.

The Grand Rapids for Edwards Meetup Group will march in the Grand Rapids Labor Day Parade on Monday. will march in the Grand Rapids Labor Day Parade on Monday. People wishing to march should gather between Mt. Vernon and Fulton at 9 a.m. with the parade starting at 10 a.m. Following the parade there will be a party in John Ball Park with food and music. An RSVP is required.

This are just a few events. Please add your event.