Labor unions

It’s Labor Day, time to celebrate workers and labor unions. For this Labor Day  RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay says it’s  a tough time for workers and organized labor.

In Rhode Island, Labor Day wasn’t always just another day off. It wasn’t always just an excuse for a last  summer day at the beach.  Or a backyard cookout.

A century ago, Labor Day was a time of worker activism. In 1893, after years of agitation by workers and union leaders, the Rhode Island General Assembly established the first Monday in September as a legal, but not a paid, holiday.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Clay Pell has won the endorsement of the political action committee of the National Education Association Rhode Island, whose leadership has enthusiastically supported Pell's campaign.

In a statement, NEARI president Larry Purtill says, “This race for governor is critical to the state of Rhode Island and public education. We need a candidate who will listen to educators, stop the testing craze and make sure that every Rhode Island student has the opportunity for a great public school education."

Two days after he announced his gubernatorial campaign, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras collected the endorsement on Wednesday of the Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters outside a Cranston fire house.

While the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity is blasting the RI Labor Relations Board decision to move ahead with a vote on unionizing state-subsidized child care workers, it is difficult to question the labor panel’s reasoning.

Some history here:  Mike Stenhouse, ceo of the conservative Freedom & Prosperity group, asked the labor board to delay a vote until the U.S. Supreme Court decides a challenge to a somewhat similar union quest   in Illinois.

Today we celebrate the glorious history of the American labor movement. While unions have a storied past RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay wonders what the future holds.

Labor Day in Rhode Island has long been more than a summer’s end holiday. For decades, union leaders and their members have celebrated a movement that assimilated immigrants, fought vigorously for better pay and working conditions and was a fulcrum in the creation of a strong middle class.

Today we celebrate the glorious history of the American labor movement. While unions have a storied past RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay wonders what the future holds.

Labor Day in Rhode Island has long been more than a summer’s end holiday. For decades, union leaders and their members have celebrated a movement that assimilated immigrants, fought vigorously for better pay and working conditions and was a fulcrum in the creation of a strong middle class.