Honoring America’s workers
During the Industrial Revolution, the average American
worked 12-hour days, seven days a week. Children toiled for
long hours and frequently in dangerous settings as child
labor laws were often overlooked. No wonder that on Sept. 5,
1882, an estimated 10,000 workers marched in New York City
and launched the first Labor Day.
 Labor
Day, celebrated on the first Monday of September, is
dedicated to the economic and social achievements of
America’s working men and women. Since that first parade and
picnic 125 years ago, workers have gained strength and
protection through unions. From the founding of the Women’s
Trade Union League in 1903 to the creation of the first
federal Department of Labor in 1912 to Caesar Chavez’s
formation of an AFL-CIO United Farm Workers Organizing
Committee in 1965, working Americans have fought to make the
workplace safer, fairer and better.
Today, Senate Democrats are building on that proud
heritage by passing legislation that supports working
families by protecting workers, compensating them fairly and
keeping workplaces safer. In the past session, we passed
laws that:
- Increase allowable costs for vocational
rehabilitation to better serve injured workers and
provide successful retraining programs when appropriate
(Senate
Bill 5920);
- Create the Office of the Ombudsman to provide for a
better advocacy system for workers and to help avoid
legal costs and lengthy disputes for worker compensation
claims (SB
5053);
- Set up a joint legislative task force to get a
better handle on those employers in the construction
industry who participate in or contribute to an
underground economy (SB
5926);
- Include heart injuries and certain cancers on the
list of occupational diseases for firefighters to make
it easier for them to be treated (HB
1833);
- Prevent workers who are injured from being penalized
by having their purchased health care hours removed from
consideration by the state Department of Labor and
Industries when calculating time loss benefits (HB
1244);
- Put teeth in a prohibition of employers suppressing
workers’ compensation claims by requiring the director
of the state Department of Labor and Industries to
investigate complaints brought by workers (SB
5443);
- Establish a family leave program for qualified
employees so they can better balance their family and
job responsibilities (SB
5659);
- Extend collective bargaining rights for community
and technical college and four-year public college staff
(HB
2361);
- Clarify that the contribution by a union to an
election or campaign is not considered a use of agency
shop fees when the organization’s general treasury has
sufficient funds to cover the contributions from other
revenue sources (HB
2079); and
- Certify cranes and crane operators so workers in
this field and the public are not jeopardized by faulty
equipment (HB
2171).
This Labor Day, we honor our working men and women whose
efforts have built a strong economy, a prosperous America
and a proud tradition.
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