LABOR DAY 2003: An unfit legacy

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | Monday, September 1, 2003 | editorial

[Willie Green]

The summer is bookended by Memorial and Labor days. During the former we honor those who died to defend the freedoms by which labor can seek its maximum value and reward.

Yet, while we will enjoy the holiday, we won't glorify the coercion of closed shops. We will not break out the champagne for the steel tariffs -- that protect the few at the expense of the many as war persists half a world away.

[Willie Green]

Fatalities and Injuries for All Mining (Coal & Noncoal)

Year	Average Annual Deaths	Average Annual Injuries
1936-1940	1,546	81,342
1941-1945	1,592	82,825
1946-1950	1,054	63,367
1951-1955	690	38,510
1956-1960	550	28,805
1961-1965	449	23,204
1966-1970	426	22,435
1971-1975	322	33,963
1976-1980	254	41,220
1981-1985	174	24,290
1986-1990	122	27,524
1991-1999	93	21,351

The butthead libertarian luddites at the Tribune-Review are still rankled because safety regulations forced the development of technology that saved the lives of the Quecreek miners.

And the idiots also forget that those who worked in the mines and the mills were far more likely to serve honorably in our military than the privileged elite who profit from war.

[elbucko]

...those who worked in the mines and the mills were far more likely to serve honorably in our military than the privileged elite who...

...wrote in the newspapers about war.

[flowerplough]

Worked with a former Union true-believing steel mill electrician. He used to complain of only being able to make $100k/year or so when his kids were in college costing him $67 per credit hour. Like Cheech and Chong used to say, things were tough all over.