May Day is also International Workers' Day, an occasion to celebrate the worth and dignity of all human beings, and a day to express a demand that the worth and dignity of all workers be recognized in every workplace, in every nation of the world.
My current userpic shows Eugene V. Debs, one of the greatest labor union leaders of all time. In addition to founding two unions of railroad workers, this native of Terre Haute, Indiana was among the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), also known as The Wobblies.
Eugene V. Debs also:
--Ran for president as candidate of the Socialist Party in five elections.
--Was opposed to American's entry into World War One. Because of his opposition, he was arrested, and convicted of treason in 1918.
--While serving his sentence at a federal prison in Atlanta in 1920, Debs ran for president for the very last time, receiving nearly a million votes.
Who's your own favorite labor leader?
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here are some of my fave MoJo quotes:
"I'm not a humanitarian, I'm a hell-raiser."
"Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living."
"If they want to hang me, let them. And on the scaffold I will shout Freedom for the working class!"
A close second would be Joey Smallwood, "Last Father of Confederation" (a journalist and a union organizer before he entered politics).
I wonder why it is that we (North Americans) celebrate Labour Day in September rather than May ...
Joey Smallwood is new to me. That bust of him is downright frightening, though.
That bust of Smallwood *is* frightening -- frighteningly accurate. He was not a handsome man.
My mom. Erik, clean up your room! Erik, put your dirty clothes in the laundry! Erik, go to the grocery store!