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Immigration-limits groups are in the midst of a Labor Day campaign to pressure Congress and presidential candidates to pledge to cut the flow of foreign labor in order to protect American workers. The groups' plea — being made in a new television-ad campaign and an online petition — occurs as think tanks on both sides of the immigration debate ponder the role of immigrants in the labor force, and arrive at different conclusions about how necessary foreign workers will be over the next half-century. The new ad campaign is stark and blunt: It features a young couple sitting at a...

Blowing the whistle on Big Labor By Michelle Malkin  •  September 3, 2007 01:30 AM  The Center for Union Facts is marking Labor Day by reminding Americans of union fatcats and the corruption of Big Labor. The state of the unions is…not good: * Union membership is down to 7.4 percent of private sector employees and down to 12 percent overall (government employees are highly unionized, at a rate of 36.2 percent) – that’s down from a high of 20.1 percent in 1983* Union bosses continue to be criticized for their lavish salaries, even while their membership declines* Even after several...

The old man had long ago given up fixing shoes and tried other businesses, but always at the same location, and with many of the same customers. But he never found any other work that gave him as much satisfaction as putting new soles on a pair of old uppers. Or putting a pair of Cat's Paw heels on shoes that still had a lot of wear left, and doing it neatly, surely, carefully - to last. He loved the feel and aroma of new leather, the grain in the old. He was seldom as happy as when he could...

Most of the world marks Labor Day on May 1 with parades and rallies. Americans celebrate it in early September, by heading to the beach or firing up the grill. Why the discrepancy? Here's a hint: The answer would have been a great disappointment to Frederick Engels. Engels, the co-author of The Communist Manifesto, had high hopes for May Day, which originated in the United States. When the socialist-dominated organization known as the Second International jumped on the American bandwagon and adopted May 1 as International Labor Day, Engels confidently expected the proletariats of Europe and America to merge into...

Just breakin

This 125th Labor Day, Americans ought to consider one of organized labor's lesser-known contributions to American politics: affirmative action. For most of their first century, American unions promoted affirmative action for white workers: Trade unions were job monopolies and most often white job monopolies. California unions, for example, led the campaign against Chinese immigrant labor, and the "union label" campaign helped to enable consumers to boycott products made by Chinese workers. "The cigars contained herein are made by WHITE MEN," the original union label read. As for East Coast immigrant labor, the celebrated socialist leader Eugene V. Debs once complained,...

As the summer draws to an end and thoughts go to what we will be doing in the next year, maybe a change of direction, new job, new school/college/university. As this is Labor Day Weekend what will you being doing this weekend? Do you see this as a family time or fun time with friends? Do you think that being single affects how you feel and what you do during the Labor Day weekend? What did you used to do as a child for Labor Day and do you think that children nowadays have as much fun or do they...

Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation." Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the...

  LABOR DAY WEEKEND IS UPON US "Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation." Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the...

The National "Fight for Victory Tour" Bay Area Event San Francisco, CA - Sept. 3, 2007 - 5:15PM Join Move America Forward and a coalition of other pro-troop groups as we promote the national "Fight for Victory Tour" (a patriotic pro-troop caravan that crosses the nation) for our third Pro-Troop Rally. The "Fight for Victory Tour" continues on Monday September 3rd with this 5:15PM rally in San Francisco then crosses the nation before concluding with "The Gathering of Eagles" and a giant pro-troop rally in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 15th. The rally takes place at The Plaza in...

The National "Fight for Victory Tour" Sacramento Event Sacramento, CA - Sept. 3, 2007 - 1:15 PM Join Move America Forward and a coalition of other pro-troop groups as we promote the national "Fight for Victory Tour" (a patriotic pro-troop caravan that crosses the nation) for our second Pro-Troop Rally. The "Fight for Victory Tour" stops on Monday September 3rd with this 1:15 PM rally in Sacramento then crosses the nation before concluding with "The Gathering of Eagles" and a giant pro-troop rally in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 15th. The rally takes place at The Veterans Memorial in...

The dispute over who founded Labor Day has been fueled for more than a century in equal parts by an enduring mix of passion and confusion.  Perhaps no two people embody the dynamics particular to this debate more than Georgene and George Maguire, longtime residents of Elmwood Park.   "Shouldn't this man be honored?" Georgene Maguire asked rhetorically one recent morning at the couple's home on Gilbert Avenue. "I don't want him forgotten after everything he went through.""This man" is Matthew Maguire, a Paterson-born machinist and labor leader who was, more than likely, the driving force behind the first Labor Day...

President Bush Honors American Work Force on Labor Day 11:38 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Happy Labor Day. AUDIENCE: Happy Labor Day. THE PRESIDENT: Yes, thanks. Listen, I'm thrilled that Michael invited me to come and visit with you this Labor Day. But this isn't the first time he invited me. (Laughter.) He invited me for last year, and I committed. And then we had a terrible storm hit, and I hope you understood -- understand why I needed to be there than up here last year. Now he invited me again. I couldn't wait...

NEWTOWN -- On Academy Lane, where the politicians marching in the annual Labor Day parade muster like drum corps members, there was an uneasy face-off Monday. Ned Lamont supporters lined one side of the road. Joe Lieberman fans lined the other, with not much banter across the impromptu demilitarized zone that ran down the middle of the road. "Lieberman's on the right side of the road, Lamont's on the left," said Judy Frew, of Woodbury and one of the members of the Lamont camp. For just as this is an election year like few others in the state's history, it...

Democratic candidate Bell fires criticism at Perry ASSOCIATED PRESS IRVING (AP) - Democrat Chris Bell, the lone candidate for governor campaigning on Labor Day, didn't mince words in taking aim at Republican incumbent Rick Perry. "On issue after issue, category after category - education, health care, stem cell research, the environment, our state parks system - Rick Perry is an absolute miserable failure as governor," Bell said at the Dallas AFL-CIO Labor Day Breakfast. Bell made other stops Monday in Tyler, Galveston and Waco, each time stressing the need for the state to revamp a weak education system. Perry spent...

LAS VEGAS - Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day telethon raised a record $61 million to fight muscular dystrophy, bolstered by a huge donation from a group of firefighters and the lack of a major hurricane before the show. "We did good," said Lewis, 80, looking choked up as the final figure, $61,013,855, flashed across the tote board Monday. "I can only thank you from the bottom of my heart for so many little people that can't thank you, can't show their appreciation in any way." Leading the contributors was the International Association of Fire Fighters, which donated a record $23.5...

Though there was no actual confirmation that the Presdent and First Lady spent the weekend at Camp David I assume they did because photo were released on Sunday of them returning to the White House from Camp David along with the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Today the President celebrated Labour Day by making remarks during a Labor Day observance at a maritime training institute in Piney Point, Maryland, he also toured the facility. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Saw this just breaking...Jerry Lewis will not host the annual MDA telethon for the first time ever due to a sudden illness...Ed McMahon will take his place as full time host this year. Lewis has battled a number of illnesses over the last 12 years but always managed to host the 21.5 hour show...even on oxygen. A taped opening filmed on August 31st on the Vegas strip with him stopping traffic with an orchestra at 2 am will still be shown but Lewis is too ill to do the show live.

Does anyone know where I can watch the Jerry Lewis Telethon online?

This Labor Day weekend, millions of American workers will enjoy barbeques and spend quality time with their families. They should also celebrate that in 2006 they keep more of the fruits of their labor than they could three years ago—and there’s so much more fruit to go around, too. Thanks to the tax relief that President Bush signed into law on May 28, 2003, the economy is strong, jobs are plentiful, and American workers hold on to more of their paychecks each week and face lower taxes on their savings and investments for the future. In 2003, many commentators criticized...

PINEY POINT, Md. (AP) -- President Bush said Monday the economy is growing steadily and jobs are plentiful, but America must work harder to break its dependency on foreign oil. Making a Labor Day appearance at Maryland's Paul Hall Center for Training and Education, which offers vocational training to Seafarer's International Union members, Bush said "dependence on foreign oil jeopardizes our ability to grow." "Problem is, we get oil from some parts of the world and they simply don't like us," he said. "The more dependent we are on that type of energy, the less likely it will be that...

Immigrant supporters marched in several U.S. cities Monday to call for the right of illegal workers to live and work freely in the United States, drawing significantly fewer participants than massive demonstrations earlier this year. Participants waved American and Mexican flags at peaceful Labor Day rallies in California, Arizona and Texas, with crowds of a few hundred to several thousand chanting "Si se puede!" ("It can be done!") and "We are America." Marchers voiced the same message in demonstrations that attracted hundreds of thousands this spring. "Treat us as the labor force that moves the wealth in this country," Haydee...

A group focusing on the rights of immigrant workers plans to make itself part of Madison's annual LaborFest today. At the main Labor Day event at the Labor Temple, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney is expected to make a stop in the late afternoon. The April 10th Coalition will hold a rally at 11:30 a.m. at Brittingham Park, on the corner of West Washington Avenue and Park Street. At 1 p.m., the group plans to march down Park Street and join in LaborFest at the Madison Labor Temple, 1602 S. Park St. The South Central Federation of Labor, which annually sponsors...

Local 75 of the Plumbers and Gas Fitters will break from tradition and not march in Milwaukee's Labor Day parade today because the union considers the inclusion of immigrant advocates a distraction from Labor Day. "This is strictly a Labor Day celebration. Any other purpose of this parade would not do Labor Day any justice, in my opinion. It's designed to celebrate labor. Labor only," said Harry Kreuser, Local 75 business manager. The 1,900-member union, covering 14 counties in southern Wisconsin, will participate in Labor Day celebrations in Janesville and Madison, Kreuser said, but it won't be an official entry...

About 400 people marched in downtown Houston today in support of immigrant rights, part of a nationwide Labor Day effort in advance of this month's congressional debate on immigration legislation. Marchers said they don't want top politicians to think they've forgotten the cause since the rallies last spring that drew tens of thousands of people to the streets. This time, they carried American flags and signs that said "Today we march. Tomorrow we vote." Leaders said the demonstrators advocate permanent legal residency for immigrants who cross the border illegally, as well as a higher minimum wage and bans on racial...

Happy Labor Day: We're All Workers! by Edward Hudgins The Atlas Society & Objectivist Center ehudgins@objectivistcenter.org When Congress declared Labor Day a national holiday in 1894 it marked not only a celebration by workers but a division of Americans into groups often seen as opposed to one another. The day grew out of a desire to get governments to force employers to offer certain terms of employment to workers. The first Labor Day parade took place in 1882 in New York and was organized by Peter McGuire who helped found the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions. The "labor"...

The Talk Shows Sunday, September 3rd, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and his Democratic challenger, state treasurer Robert Casey. FACE THE NATION (CBS): Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.; Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., and his primary challenger, Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey; actress and animal rights activist Bo Derek. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Rep. Christopher Shays,...

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means "Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation." Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation...

Immigration Rights March Set Today By Rachel Uranga Staff Writer Immigrants' rights advocates plan to marshal support for their cause this month in the hope of sparking reform before Congress turns its attention to the November campaign. Immigration rights marches are planned for the Labor Day weekend and voter registration drives are ramping up. Cardinal Roger Mahony - who made national headlines earlier this year when he announced that he would advise his priests to ignore federal rules prohibiting them from aiding illegal immigrants - is expected to make a major immigration address during his Labor Day Mass. During a...

~ Tunes For Our Troops ~ Music Links*Support the artists!! All links provided at the top! ArtistDirect Soma (Alternative) Acaza AudioRealm VH1 Yahoo! Launch MusicRadio Disney Live-Radio NetITunes Amazon Salsa Radio MTV CMT Ticketmaster Billboard ClubFM Internet Radio AOL Music Sonique (Lycos) Real RadioLive365 971TheRiver GotRadio Wherehouse Target Shoutcast AFRTS VH1 XM Radio BETaudiophileVirgin Radio   Why We're Here!   Army Navy Air Force Marines Coast Guard   Canteen DeejaysA list of the people that make the Canteen threads possible through music!acad1228 AZAmericonnie beachn4fun Colonel_Flagg Drumbo El Gran Salseron EsmeraldaA GodBlessUSA GoldStarBrother HiJinx Kathy In Alaska laurenmarlowe LUV W MoJo2001...

Labor Day, a national legal holiday over 100 years old has Over the years evolved from a purely labor union celebration into a general "last fling of summer" festival. It grew out of a celebration and parade in honor of the working class by the Knights of Labor in New York. In 1884, the Knights held a large parade in New York City celebrating the working class. The parade was held on the first Monday in September. The Knights passed a resolution to hold all future parades on the same day, designated by them as Labor Day. The Socialist...

FRIDAY HAS ARRIVED HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Labor Day, our country’s mislabeled national work stoppage, inspires union bosses to march in parades honoring America’s employees. Union members should use this occasion to learn where union chiefs spend their hard-earned dues. Just as transparency rules now obligate corporations to pry open their books, the Bush Administration insists that unions more thoroughly disclose their expenditures. This spending mainly comes from dues forcibly collected from Labor mainly spends the dues from rank-and-file members. The $197,033,161 that the United Auto Workers squeezed out of its members last year, for instance, represents 64.2 percent of its $306,747,724 in revenues. The National Educations...

It's been a long summer. The workload has increased as the hairline decreased. There is a change in the weather this week that seems to mark the start of autumn. Time to push aside the paperwork, the reports, the bills, and the everyday world of life. Time to start something nutty... Friday Silliness Begins Now Silly Songs: I Love My Lips

Queens assemblyman Brian McLaughlin, the powerful city labor leader who became the target in March of a federal bid-rigging probe, stepped down yesterday as president of the 1 million-member Central Labor Council. McLaughlin was granted a six-month paid leave of absence yesterday from his post at the labor council, the main umbrella group for organized labor. The council's executive board approved the leave during a special meeting yesterday where it also named Ed Ott, the group's current director of public policy, to replace McLaughlin with the title of interim executive director. The move, which many had long expected, comes only...

Happy with the falling prices at the pump? Fuhgeddaboudit! That’s what economic wiseguy Matt Lauer suggested to viewers of the August 30 “Today” show, even though oil analysts predict falling gas prices this fall and his own network erroneously predicted $3.50-a-gallon gasoline just a few weeks ago. “You’re probably feeling a little better these days when you fill up your car at the gas station,” Lauer admitted as he teased a story by correspondent Kevin Tibbles. The “Today” host conceded that “analysts say prices could keep falling for months to come,” but sought to shoot it down by pointing to...

Why I Wish I Were French It's Labor Day weekend, and that got me to thinking: I wish I were French. The French are a wonderful people. Their food is excellent. Their cities are filled with remarkable architecture and an abundance of culture. And, boy, do they have the free time to enjoy it all. Back in 2000, French politicians, trying to bring the high unemployment rate down, decided to try something bold. Did they cut taxes to spur the economy the way Americans would? Nope. Did they reduce regulations that make it virtually impossible for employers to fire bad...

Labor Day is celebrated the first Monday in September: A. Because it’s still warm enough to go swimming. B. Because people need a break after a hectic August. C. Because September is a good month for doing labor. D. To commemorate the Knights of Labor parade held Sept. 5, 1882 in New York City, and to avoid honoring labor on May 1, which was the preference of socialists and communists.

<p>We need people to help Rally against Ted Kennedy's ammesty bill in Boston on Laorb Day. We need lots of people and signs. We will have some signs, but hopefully not enough.</p>

May Day originated in the U.S., specifically Chicago, as a commemoration of the Haymarket Riot of 1886. The riot revolved around the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demanding an eight-hour work day. Because of its leftist overtones, the May Day celebration was later endorsed by socialist, communist and anarchist groups. The Soviet Union’s co-opting of the holiday and the subsequent “Red Scare” in the United States ended up with the U.S. distancing itself from May Day. The U.S. later established a different date – in September – with which to celebrate the efforts of the American worker. It’s...

SAN FRANCISCO: Most Bay Area residents may have celebrated Labor Day with prodigious quantities of beer and barbecue, but some marked it the old-fashioned way -- by getting arrested. Sixty-one union members and sympathizers staged a sit-down at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Union Square in San Francisco to call attention to a yearlong dispute with 14 hotels over new labor contracts. They were arrested, charged with misdemeanors for interfering with a place of business, and released. As police fitted them with plastic handcuffs, several hundred pickets marched on Stockton Street, chanting union songs and slogans. Mike Casey, the president...

As we celebrated Labor Day, the movement it honors continues to wither from self-inflicted wounds that border on suicide. No better example exists of why unions are going the way of the dinosaur than the teachers' Wal-Mart boycott.

The Labor Day weekend marks the official end of summer, usually offering a final burst of reflection, with the singing of the crickets of late August bathing consciousness in a sad symphony of vague melancholia. We yearn to remember summer through the haze of lazy, happy days when nothing much happened. Not this year. News of suicide bombs in Iraq, horrendous wind and high water in our own South and anti-war protest in Texas seize our attention. Reflection this year carries high anxiety.

DETROIT (AP) -- Northwest Airlines employees on strike for more than two weeks took their picket line to the streets Monday during two Labor Day parades in Detroit, hoping their presence would help rally support from other unions. "With the assault on labor right now, it was important for us to be out with all the unions," Bob Rose, president of Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association Local 5 in Detroit, said in describing the more than 100 Northwest union members, family and friends who showed up to march in the parades. Northwest mechanics, cleaners and custodians have been on strike since...

Weekly wrapup of Virginia Campaign News. Post 'em if you've got 'em... Last week's thread: Virginia Campaign News - Monday, August 29 - Thread XXII - Stormy Weather From the RTD this weekend: Va. Tech defeats N.C. State 20-16 Now if we can just keep Marcus out of jail... Politicians start last sprint Buena Vista parade marks final push for statewide campaignsby Tyler WhitleyBUENA VISTA With a brand new park 35 years ago, the city fathers of Buena Vista wanted an attraction to show it off.Blogs' profile in races grows Web logs receiving more attention in Va. campaign season by...

Welcome to the three day holiday thread of the Freeper Kitchen! You know what that means! MEAT!! (pictures required) But, any picnic or barbecue fare will do. If it is meat or something that makes a good side dish to meat, you will want to put it here. Have a Good and Safe Weekend!

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. Jerry Lewis can pinpoint the moment he knew his Labor Day telethon had to be more than another chapter in his long effort to help children with muscular dystrophy. It had to benefit hurricane victims, too. A TV news report on lost youngsters in New Orleans, followed by footage of an elderly woman being pushed through flooded streets on a mattress, moved him to act. "I had a box of Kleenex and I'm bawling like a child and I'm not believing it," Lewis told The Associated Press. "If I had the slightest chance of helping them a...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Other than a three-day weekend, most Americans don't give much thought to what they're supposed to be observing on Labor Day. In practice, it's become little more than the unofficial celebration of the end of summer. Back in 1882, when New York City's Central Labor Union inaugurated the holiday, the labor movement was quite a different thing than it is today. Once upon a time, workers had valid grievances regarding pay, hours, conditions and safety. Unions served a positive role in leveraging the collective influence of their members to pressure management to redress those grievances. But labor unions are political...

I received an "e" mail, from a WW II shipmate, of a purported Kerry campaign "front porch meeting" on Labor Day in a residential area in Canonsburg, PA. The information I received on how this meeting was set up and conducted was unusual to say the least. I am hesitant to give any details of what was in the "e" mail until I can confirm the content. I was wondering if anyone has information concerning such a meeting.