The Labor Day holiday gives many a three-day weekend and time to spend relaxing as summer unofficially ends. The idea of Labor Day emerged in the late 19th century when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions of workers. In 1894,12 years after the first labor parade in New York, President Grover Cleveland signed an act establishing Labor Day as a federal holiday on the first Monday of every September.
Many of the jobs back then as well as many of those throughout the1900s were made obsolete by technology. Gone are the doffer, weaver, loom fixers, and spinners jobs from the textile mills. Jobs as elevator and telephone operators, milkman, bowling pin setters, and ice cutters are a thing of the past. Although the types of jobs have changed throughout history, organized labor has remained committed to improving the economic security, health and lives of working people.
This Weekend Reading series begins with Got a Job with a look at some of the dangers, challenges and and rewards of work in the last 150 years. Next check out It’s My Life with articles exploring the health effects of work. In On the Edge explore a variety of articles on stress from paid and unpaid work. Last but not least, do not miss Workin’ for a Livin’ with information on a new series on the future of work, working like a dog and more!
I hope you enjoy the following:
1. Got a Job
- AFL-CIO.org: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire
- Department of Labor: Progressive Era Investigations
- Perspectives On History: Gruesome but Honorable Work – The Return of the Dead Program following World War II
- Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries: The American Era of Child Labor
2. It’s My Life
- NPR: Overwork Killed More Than 745,000 People In A Year, WHO Study Finds
- New York Times: Opinion: Working Less Is a Matter of Life and Death
- Women’s Health: Time Poverty Has A Lasting Impact On Women’s Health And Happiness
- U.S. News & World Report: Working Night Shifts Could Raise Odds for A-Fib
- ScienceDaily: Insights on how night shift work increases cancer risk
3. On the Edge
- The Atlantic: Parents Are Not Okay
- WBUR (NPR Boston): Exhausted, Drained, Overwhelmed: How Burnout Is Affecting Work And Life During The Pandemic
- Vox: Caring for the elderly has never been more expensive, exhausting, or invisible
- Psychiatric Times: Navigating COVID-19’s Lessons on Burnout
4. Workin’ for a Livin’
- PBS Future of Work: The Next Generation (three-part PBS series explores future employment trends (broadcasts September 1, 8 and 15)
- PBS Digital Studios: Future of Work: The Next Generation on PBS Digital Studios and PBS Voices YouTube Channel
- The Atlantic: The Secret to Happiness at Work
- Britannica: Working Like a Dog: 7 Animals with Jobs
- Stacker: Most common jobs in America 100 years ago
Enjoy your weekend!
Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]
