Major League Baseball's Sad Silence on Labor Day
by Freneau on Sep 5, 2011 11:23 PM EDT
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PrintThis season, as has happened for many years now, Major League Baseball marked Independence Day and Memorial Day with special holiday hats. That they were garish and gosh (but don't worry a portion of sales are going to honor the troops!) was beside the point. Observance was made.
Past that, two teams also had plans to wear special caps for Earth Day (the game was rained out) and just about everyone wears green on St. Patrick's Day (Spring Training games, but still) as well as the hints of Susan G. Komen approved pink on Mother's Day. MLB also has a Civil Rights Game and during each All-Star Game there's now a required observance of something (this year it was Stand Up 2 Cancer). Heck, even embarrassingly non-militaristic Canada gets a Canada Day hat for the Jays. We're also bombarded with an array of special patches, ceremonies and flyovers and of course, "God Bless America" just about everywhere, everyday, apparently, forever. I'm increasingly worried that we also need The Pledge of Allegiance to mark the 4th inning, because I've seen people in the stands and I'm worried they're losing focus on the U.S.A. during that long seven inning slog between the Banner and GBA.
Nevertheless, amidst all this observing, 2011 will bring another silent Labor Day from Major League Baseball. Sure, there will be a spate of day games, because oh look everyone has today off wow this is weird oh cool we planned ahead day games! Why the Labor Day silence? It's not like a different design is needed either, since Independence Day and Memorial Day (yes, they are actually different holidays marking different things) share the same hat each year. Although, since we're on the subject, as special design for Labor Day would be... potentially at least... very cool.
The contributions of America's workers deserve to be honored. If how we honor things is with ugly hats, then so be it, I want ugly hats thanking and remembering the efforts made by millions to build this country. If I have to listen to the broadcast crew of every game painfully struggling through their reflections on war/civil rights/Earth Day/cancer then I want the same thing done for workers. You know, basically everyone. Well, the 80% or so who are lucky to have jobs. Not to mention the fact that every single inning of Major League baseball is highly subsidized by taxpayer dollars and tax exemptions. OK, maybe I am mentioning it.
The non-observance of Labor Day says a lot about Bud Selig's MLB empire, but it says just as much about the way we live now. There are more Presidential candidates running on lowering or eliminating the minimum wage than those who want to raise it. Nobody say anything or complain about anything and by God nobody report anything, lest we all get fired.
Labor Day has been a federal holiday since 1984. No wait, actually, I read that wrong. It's been a federal holiday since 1894. And that was after years of existence beforehand at the state and local level. Labor Day is a venerable statesman on our calendar. In 1894 the United States had a weird looking flag because there were only 44 states. In 1894 the Olympics were still just that thing they had kinda sorta done in ancient Greece. In 1894 Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey were yet to be born and Frederick Douglass was still alive. As Dudley Moore might have said about it in Arthur, we are not talking about a new holiday here.
Moreover, unlike, say, Arbor Day, people died fighting for workers' rights. People stood before hooves, took gunfire, were whipped and throttled and imprisoned for things we take for granted. If you need blood to care, there's been blood. Or if those battles are too distant, there's the uncomfortable fact that every year thousands of Americans die at work. And it is at work that, as proud Americans, we will spend most of our lives.
Maybe a Labor Day cap is an empty gesture, but we've got to start somewhere.
Perhaps by 2094 Major League Baseball will be ready to make a small nod of thanks to the people who built the stadiums, the people who staff the stadiums, and the people who fill them. Though, alas, that may be seen as disrespecting the veterans still coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
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I hadn’t ever really thought about it, but you make an excellent point here. Labor day deserves far better than the ZOMG IT’S OUR LAST CHANCE TO GET WASTED FOR THE SUMMER SO LET’S GO ON A FLOAT TRIP treatment it gets.
You're a badass Will
Agree wholeheartedly…
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You know whats really annoying to me?
That they play America the beautiful now around the 4th inning, just as you jokingly suggest and I’ve had people glare at me for not standing and removing my hat.
ITS NOT THE GODDAMN NATION ANTHEM, LEAVE ME ALONE.
I hate it even more when the concession line I’m in grinds to a halt because everyone in front of me has decided that showing patriotism means that we must stand at attention just because someone sang the word America (which, please note, is not actually IN THE NATIONAL ANTHEM)
That aside, I agree that Labor day, and what it stands for, deserves better. I’m not going to let politics get in here, but I’ve seen to many injustices done simply because the person on the recieving end was making minimum wage and couldn’t afford to save up money to make a better life for themselves to say that something shouldn’t be done.
"We don’t have guys with a long history of being effective in the seventh and eighth innings."
~Trey Hillman, master of understatements.
by RoyalPug on Sep 5, 2011 1:59 AM EDT reply actions 7 recs
my bad, I meant god bless america
either way, it’s annoying
"We don’t have guys with a long history of being effective in the seventh and eighth innings."
~Trey Hillman, master of understatements.
by RoyalPug on Sep 5, 2011 10:03 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
If the Major League is not going to put Marvin Miller into the Hall of Fame
then I doubt they will bother honoring Labor Day either. That being said, I felt like I have noticed more people talking about why the United States has a Labor Day this year than in other years past. This might be a product of me becoming more aware of the world around me, but I also think it shows that more people are realizing how important unions have been for our country and that workers need to continue to fight for their rights in our society today.
I think
it’s “gauche.”
Sporadically musing on the Royals at Royalscentricity and on Twitter at Old Man Duggan
I wonder if they would care all that much in the end,
but there might be a few owners (most notably Glass) who might not appreciate the original meaning of Labor Day being brought up as opposed to it just being a day of work.
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!
The Industrial Revolution was surprisingly bloodless
in the US. There were several violent episodes, of course, from Ludlow to Homestead, but the total death toll can’t have been more than a couple of hundred. And the change in society was tremendous: from a basically agricultural country in 1810 to the world’s leading industrial and financial power in 1910. You’d think such a huge change as that would have caused a lot more violence, as it did in France and Russia.
You could argue that the Civil War was an extension of the basic conflict of the agricultural South, rejecting the Industrial Revolution, versus the industrial/commercial North trying to impose industrialism. If you include Civil War deaths (which I wouldn’t), that makes the change to industry much bloodier.
"When asked who was responsible for his going down in flames
He pointed to the offices and said 'You all know their names'
So hurry home early, hurry, let's go
Boom Boom Mazzaro's facing Robby Canó" --Not Warren Zevon
If You Include
The mining industry’s violent history, I think you could probably cobble together a couple thousand deaths.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 5, 2011 3:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Possibly.
If you include miners killed in cave-ins, many caused by deficient safety, it would be well over two thousand. Cave-ins were regular features of life 100 or so years ago.
1907, 362 deaths, WV
1913, 263, NM
1909, 259, IL
1937, 257, VA
1900, 200, UT
1947, 111, IL
1869, 108, PA
1968, 78, WV
On the other hand, it looks like the Industrial Revolution development that killed the most people was train wrecks.
"When asked who was responsible for his going down in flames
He pointed to the offices and said 'You all know their names'
So hurry home early, hurry, let's go
Boom Boom Mazzaro's facing Robby Canó" --Not Warren Zevon
These mining numbers are very common throughout the rest of the world
I talked to some Chinese mining officials and they think all the current numbers are just made up (1-2 dead a year). They lose some crazy number like 20 a day.
and don’t forget the horses:
In 1904, Miller sprained his wrist in a carriage accident. Miller was riding with 14 Pittsburgh Pirates players when the rear wheel suddenly collapsed. Several players, including Miller and Kitty Bransfield, were injured when the frightened horses bolted and dragged the carriage on its side.
- .-. ..- … – / – …. . / .—. .-. - .. . … …
by Jeff Zimmerman on Sep 6, 2011 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
This is kind of interesting
I’m looking around at the history of industrial violence in the US. Looks like the first big outbreak was during the summer of 1877, when there was a market crash that threw the country into a severe depression for several years. It started in Baltimore when the B&O cut wages and the workers walked off, and went nationwide through the railroads, the key industry of the time. There were about 10 deaths in Baltimore, 10 in Reading, 40 in Pittsburgh, 20 in Chicago, and 18 in St. Louis in various scuffles between strikers, strikebreakers, cops, and militia. Let’s round up—these numbers can’t be perfect and there must have been some unreported deaths—and say the labor disputes of 1877 killed about 100-120 people.
Of course, there were an awful lot of poor people living right on the edge for about five years there.
"When asked who was responsible for his going down in flames
He pointed to the offices and said 'You all know their names'
So hurry home early, hurry, let's go
Boom Boom Mazzaro's facing Robby Canó" --Not Warren Zevon
This Reminded Me
Of this horrible incident.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawks_Nest_Tunnel_Disaster
Tunnel
To generate electricity for a plant downstream at Alloy, Union Carbide decided to divert the New River to improve its power generation ability. Beginning in 1927, its contractor Rinehart & Dennis began construction of the 3-mile (4.8 km) tunnel carrying the river under Gauley Mountain. A dam was constructed immediately below Hawks Nest to divert most of the New River flow into the tunnel. It then re-enters the river near Gauley Bridge leaving a section known as “the Dries” in between.
[edit] Silica
During the construction of the tunnel, workers found the mineral silica and were asked to mine it for use in electroprocessing steel. The workers were not given any masks or breathing equipment to use while mining, despite the fact that management wore such equipment during inspection visits. As a result of the exposure to silica dust, many workers developed silicosis, a debilitating lung disease. A large number of the workers eventually died from the silicosis, in some cases as quickly as within a year.
There are no definitive statistics as to the death toll from the Hawks Nest disaster. According to a historical marker on site, there were 109 admitted deaths. A Congressional hearing placed the death toll at 476.2 Other sources range from 700 to over 1,000 deaths amongst the 3,000 workers.3 Many of the workers at the site were African-Americans from the southern United States who returned home or left the region after becoming sick, making it difficult to calculate an accurate total.4
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 5, 2011 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions
As what many would call a 'militant' atheist
All the flag waving, praise jesus, rah rah bullshit that has permeated baseball and society as a whole since the 50s sickens me to no end. The standard argument for “in god we trust” and “one nation under god” is based on shit that was not even recognized until the country was damned near into its second century of existence. My country ‘tis of thee indeed… except you’re just singing god save the queen with different words!! I think labor day should be the ONLY holiday that is celebrated, laborers are people like you and me. People that EXIST.
Earth day? hippy crap, I believe the earth is important but more importantly I believe we should be finding ways to leave it behind.
Veteran’s day/Memorial day? I appreciate your service if you’re in the military but if you did it for any reason other than you needed the money and/or experience fuck off (all apologies if you joined during an actual threat, not sure how many WWII survivors are internet saavy and also Royals fans though.)
Mother’s day, ok breast cancer sucks but really I’m not sure pink bats and arm bands help. In fact I might go as far as to say instead of putting out a bunch of pink shit put that money towards research instead… call me crazy!
St. Patrick’s day? I’m as big a drunk as anyone I’ve ever met, I don’t need a pathetic Irish catholic demi-god as an excuse to drink, NEXT!
Civil rights, touchy subject… not for me though! The only reason there ever was a civil rights movement is because of the way blacks were treated in the US for so long, without the “manifest destiny” mentality that has gripped white america for so long in believing that “the lord” favored them, the events leading up to it would never have occured in the first place. (horribly ironic and sad that the most religious people in north america, outside of jerry fallwell and sarah palin of course, are blacks and hispanics. The very same people who were decimated and/or enslaved by the god fearing white christians.)
One thing we all have in common is that we work, and the neglect to recognize us (i.e. the fans) by major league baseball is egregious beyond words. I can think you’re an idiot for believing in a magical creator that oversees everything you do, you can call me a pompous science loving faerie that thinks we done came from monkeys. You might throw around the word “nigger” like it’s common pronoun, or you might be the black dude that hears that and wants to beat the shit out of him. You may in fact have breast cancer or be a hippy. What we ALL have in common is that we work, we work for different reasons. For instance I work to make sure my son’s life doesn’t suck, that’s it. I’m sure you have different reasons but you still go to a job 4-5 days a week.
To acknowledge such different dates with different meanings and leave out the only one that encompasses us all is a terrible, terrible travesty.
…And that kids is the longest thing I’ve ever written while fucking in half on a fifth of Jager, WOOOHOOO St. Patrick!!
by NobodyFsWDeJesus on Sep 5, 2011 4:48 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
That should read "fucked in half"
I edit myself even when drunk. Lame.
by NobodyFsWDeJesus on Sep 5, 2011 4:51 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm sure just about everyone
can find something here to be offended by, but in the end, I generally agree with you. Interestingly done, sir!
“fucking in half on a fifth of Jager”
Whatever that is, it’s probably illegal anywhere but Nevada.
"When asked who was responsible for his going down in flames
He pointed to the offices and said 'You all know their names'
So hurry home early, hurry, let's go
Boom Boom Mazzaro's facing Robby Canó" --Not Warren Zevon
It's definitely illegal in Mississippi
They can’t even abide dildos.
by NobodyFsWDeJesus on Sep 5, 2011 4:55 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm very much like Walter in The Big Lebowski
Only replace Vietnam with religion, that is the cause of all things shitty in the world as far as I’m concerned. I can link it back to anything, and I don’t need six degrees like Kevin Bacon.
by NobodyFsWDeJesus on Sep 5, 2011 5:03 AM EDT reply actions
Mind you I only mean religion when it's active and people that make decisions actually believe it.
I was born in the late 70s my life would be much different without “the force”.
by NobodyFsWDeJesus on Sep 5, 2011 5:13 AM EDT up reply actions
This post
was excellent and well written.
Well done, Will!
"Trying is the first step to sucking" -Jimmy Chance
Old school!
Even with the irrelevance of the “Labor Movement” (understood as the traditional working class) as a real social force since at least the 40s, a good point. One doesn’t have to buy into the class-warfare mythology that was implicitly acknowledged to be dead on an intellectual level (if not om a completely explicit level in social structure) by the Bernstein debates. Surely not even smart Marxist professors or cynical demagogues like Michael Moore who still adopt the rhetoric really believe in it.
Still, it’s part of our history. More importantly, it is part of baseball history. Curt Flood didn’t win. And even after that, there were multiple collusion suits. Remember that next time you here some genius whining about Scott Boras. One reason baseball has the best labor relations among the major sports is that the union has the most power. It’s probably a bit too much to speculate that it’s not labor history in general that Selig and the other owners are uneasy with, but rather baseball history in particular., but it’s not completely crazy.
Making watching baseball as fun as doing your taxes.
My Twitter feed.
Interesting perspective Matt
The thing that stands out to me is that MLB does absolutely nothing for Labor Day, not even the stupid special hats thing. The anti=players fight has gone underground, but that doesn’t mean it is still there. Selig’s inner circle has still be picking owners, with a major criterion based on how much they would drive down player salaries. (Somehow they missed the boat on Moreno, though likely because they felt having a latino owner was good PR. Just imagine if they had two bumbling, relatively cheap owners effectively taking LA out of the equation)
Even if you think the Labor Movement is essentially over (like some, including MLB might feel about the Civil Rights Movement) as you say it still happened and is a major part of our history. I guess the somewhat sad thing is that, apparently no MLB club has much to say in a backpatting way about their labor practices.
Sure, they might be recycling 10% more (perfect for the Earth Day press release!) but there’s nothing to be said about everyday MLB/team/stadium employees being better paid. And of course, players getting more revenue can’t be talked about positively.
Onward with the pointless battle against amateur spending…
I'm being a big "old school" myself
I guess I mean “Labor Movement” in the sense of something relying on the classical industrial Working Class, which I think was crushed by labor’s compromise with the welfare state in the 30s along with the Taylorization of production. In the larger sense, you are right about the broader sense of “labor” and it’s shared legacy for all of us. You’d think that MLB would at least exploit it for P.R, purposes.
MLB actually has had a strong and generally smart (despite the missteps [shared my management] about the PED stuff, at least in terms of a P.R. issue) union. There is an interesting parallel between the amateur spending issue and labor’s conservatism, too (unions haven’t exactly been progressive on race issues, for example, although they’ve tried to re-write themselves into that history, just like everyone else). Most current pros probably want to limit amatuer contracts and institute and international draft, etc. I don’t know what the union’s official stance is or will be, but there’s a clash between the players and (their) agents on this one. Like labor (indeed, like most of us), as soon as the “move up” in the world, they forget what it is like to be on a lower rung of the ladder.
Like them or not, Boras and the other agents are probably on the right side of this one, too. It’s dumb: Bubba Starling got a smaller contract than Kevin Gregg. But, as GopherBalls once put it, that’s money that could have gone to Juan Cruz’s summer home…
Making watching baseball as fun as doing your taxes.
My Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Sep 5, 2011 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions
No doubt
The owners really need to act fast on amateur spending restrictions… in the last few years the tide has turned on the mainstream reactions to big bonuses etc (worst sentence ever)
Sure, there’s always talk radio guy who is furious that Bubba has gotten paid before he’s DONE ANYTHING but those guys are now getting drowned out by the prospect hounds and people who know the value of these guys.
What do the owners want to get back from the players? They’ve already got the limits to FA. I guess there could be a fight over more performance bonuses (basically back door non-guaranteed contracts)
Will - great job, very exellent piece
I did not know that labor day started in the late 1800’s. I did not know about all those deaths. I did know we will work almost everyday until we die (as Americans) and I agree with the ridiculousness of all these different hats & celebrations..
"Stay Classy Kansas City"
by Mas Cervezas on Sep 5, 2011 10:29 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
our holiday history is crazy
i got really into it for a while in grad school… for example, during the era of the blessed Founding Fathers, the big gift-giving holiday was New Years/NY Eve. lots of little things like that, really interesting cultural history
And Santa Claus was invented by Coca Cola!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Sep 5, 2011 11:56 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
thank you
Will – Thanks for writing something that connects our following of baseball to the broader problems facing this country.
There was a great West Indian sport reporter/writer who commented on modernity through reflection on the changes in the game of cricket. I can’t remember his name and couldn’t find it on google. But I found him to be an amazing read.
It would be awesome if you could more often write about how parts of the game of baseball are a commentary on our life in America.
Thanks for this fabulous blog.
love C.L.R James
JSoria are you talking about ‘Beyond a Boundary’? That is an interesting discussion w/ Kipling as its starting point.
by Yunielateral Movement on Sep 5, 2011 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions
Labor Day
There’s really no universally accepted narrative of what Labor Day is “about”, so there usually aren’t a lot of festivities surrounding it. Is it a day to honor all those who labor? Too general and vague. For most of us, simply working for a living isn’t something so special that you need a holiday to reflect upon it. A day to honor unions and union members? Too narrow and restrictive. A day to honor those who died in the 1884 Pullman strike and other 19th century labor-management clashes? Even more restrictive and historically obscure.
At least with Memorial Day, you know what you are honoring. Some might say it is overblown, but at least the meaning is clear.
by maguro on Sep 5, 2011 11:02 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
This.
Case in point: a substantial portion of the first paragraph of Will’s article is dedicated to the relative ubiquity of uniform changes on the other days in question—special hats and the like. The difficulty here is that each of the other holidays in question is associated with a set of specific symbols and/or a color scheme. How WOULD one go about designing a Royals cap to honor Labor Day, exactly?
One side dresses up as "Commienazis" (see the Simpsons) and the other as SUPERUSAFLYINGCANCERCURINGMARINES (see the yankees)
Then they fight and the Dodgers move to Ft. Wayne and we all start calling shorts “short pants” again. Then Katy Perry sings some stupid crap about sunshine being young and we all go home.
by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Sep 5, 2011 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm sorry, but there really is no question about the color scheme...
…because the people’s flag is deepest red, and it’s shrouded oft our martyred dead. But, ere their limbs grew stiff and cold, their heart’s blood dyed to every fold.
change it to Workers' Rights Day then...
I’ve seen the world through a highly dangerous job with no union and therefore no backing to refuse dangerous work or clamor for higher wages
and
I’ve seen the world through a highly dangerous job with a union to back you and empower you to refuse to do things that are too dangerous with constant safety improvements to continue to protect the workers (albeit not working too well, but at least making a good wage for the dangerous work).
So, there: Workers’ Rights Day.
I can’t stand the fucking anti-labor society we live in. People with good jobs walk around ignorant of the fact that people fought a horrendous fight to get them a standard 40 hour work week and vacation weeks and sick days and safety regulations and on and on. I have found that most anti-union/anti-labor folks are just ignorant to the situation as a whole (for example, didn’t grow up with any family members exposed to the issues) or are management taking a bitter stance to argue a bigger slice of the pie come their way.
America was built on honest wages for honest work. The destruction of skilled American labor in the 80s (whether by shipping thriving factories across borders or anti-union legislature), IMO, has contributed the most to the debilitating economy we now live in. I am not saying that there isn’t an argument for the other side. I understand that globalization is inevitable, but, for now, it is a cop-out to ship work across borders where hard-fought government labor regulations become non-existent.
Don't be lonesome for your heroes. Be your own hero.
I oppose many of the mandatory labor laws and I view many of them as market inefficiencies. I believe strongly in at-will employment contracts, and a free-market approach that allows workers to negotiate their own benefits or to move onto another employer. However, I also understand that my approach is much better in theory than they are in practice. My views are also slanted because they stem largely from my own biases and experiences, mainly that I’m a highly skilled worker in a professional industry, that I am young (and not dependent on long-term job protection), and was raised in a upper-middle class home. Basically, my own devaluation of labor laws does not make me oblivious to the fact that they are a crucial part of the average Amercian. As WIll points out, the contributions of the labor movement are undeniable and touch every aspect of our lives. It’s kinda nice to be reminded about that, so thanks Will.
All white, both sides
spit in the eye of God himself!
by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Sep 5, 2011 1:10 PM EDT reply actions
also loyalty day gets skipped every year and it's a law
Loyalty Day is defined as follows in 36 U.S.C. § 115:
(a) Designation.— May 1 is Loyalty Day.
(b) Purpose.— Loyalty Day is a special day for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom.
© Proclamation.— The President is requested to issue a proclamation—
(1) calling on United States Government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on Loyalty Day; and
(2) inviting the people of the United States to observe Loyalty Day with appropriate ceremonies in schools and other suitable places.
by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Sep 5, 2011 1:23 PM EDT reply actions
Flag Fetish Day
Is every day now. I have seen so many improper displays of the U.S. flag since 2001; it boggles my mind that people think this somehow makes them more patriotic. While I understand Memorial Day, anyone who doesn’t understand that every day is Memorial Day will never get it.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 5, 2011 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
It's older that 2001...
…my personal awareness of flag-desecration-in-the-name-of-patriotism came a decade earlier, around the time Bush Sr. invaded Iraq. Arsenio Hall took to wearing that stupid American-Flag leather jacket on his show… and I just kept thinking, “wait, wasn’t Abbie Hoffman arrested for doing basically the same thing just a generation ago?”
whoa, we just copyrighted "Proclamation"
pretty trippy cut n’ paste
by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Sep 5, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Will, as always I appreciate your writing and enjoyed this piece.
Having said that, I’m a jaded employee and frankly hate all of these holidays that my whole family gets to do nothing, sleep in, etc…while I work EVRY FUCKING ONE OF THEM.
Glad I got that out of my system…vacation in t-minus 5 days…
I'm waiting for my wave of talent to arrive.
by mitchfreakingmaier! on Sep 5, 2011 1:30 PM EDT reply actions
Labor Day is Too Political Today
Organized labor takes “ownership” of the holiday (with the cooperation of the Obama administration) and, while it has accomplished much in the long ago past, it currently is a dying force that represents less than 7% of the private sector workforce. And the public sector unions are turning into thugs and extremists in places like Wisconsin to try to keep their dues flowing in and tax dollars going into their pockets.
I understand why MLB does not want to get too involved due to the politics and, like most things political, it is probably better for MLB to stay out of it.
by Kansas City Oracle on Sep 5, 2011 2:06 PM EDT reply actions
Which Koch Brother
Are you?
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 5, 2011 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
I think most of us celebrate our fellow citizens (and their families)
- democrats, republicans, independents, liberals, conservatives — who risked and sometimes gave their lives to protect our lives and our freedoms, not war on holidays like memorial day, veterans day and the 4th of July.
by Kansas City Oracle on Sep 5, 2011 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions
And that is profoundly political.
Whether most of us do it or not…. there’s no shortage of politics in the celebrations you are talking about. And I still prefer Armistice Day… Veterans Day is a form of conservative political correctness. There’s plenty of politics in all of this if you’re willing to think about the motivations and meaning behind the holidays we celebrate.
I'd rather celebrate the working class than war
"You can't fight synergy, Lemon. It's bigger than all of us." - Jack Donaghy
by LordGaga on Sep 5, 2011 11:44 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
but soldiers are a working class also...
so they get recognized for their work, not the cause that made them a soldier, so I think that is much more gratifying
Don't be lonesome for your heroes. Be your own hero.
Yeah, fuck the Koch Brothers
Those guys have some kind of nerve, employing 50,000 Americans at above averge wages.
Down with the kulaks!
which one could throw 100mph...was that Billy? or Charles?
Don't be lonesome for your heroes. Be your own hero.
There is some truth that organized labor
and liberal politicians seeking their support are the principal groups that publicly celebrate Labor Day, but that helps make my point that it is too political for MLB.
If you want an example that shows how bad it has become, and why MLB should stay away, see this account of the Teamster leader calling tea party supporters sons of bitches in a speech today right before President Obama speaks at a labor day/political rally in Detroit.
Sad to see Presdient Obama associating himself with someone who uses that term to refer to millions of our fellow citizens.
by Kansas City Oracle on Sep 5, 2011 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I follow the news pretty well, but somehow I missed every single story on the politicization of Labor Day
I assume that this news comes from the same people who brought us hand wringing over the “war on Christmas?”
I like my wars like I like my women
Parking, Whale-y & Crimean
by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Sep 5, 2011 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Ridiculous holiday
it has become.
href="http//www.softball-spot.com/"www.softball-spot.com/
by CoachBeckyWittenburg on Sep 5, 2011 2:07 PM EDT reply actions
Great piece, Will
This site constantly surprises and amazes me.
My only concern about bringing attention to Labor Day
is that we’ll have an outcry for Job Creators Day. I’m sure David Glass would support bringing special attention to that.
Consumers create jobs
We are in oh so desperte need of a “DiscoverCard Day”
America – Purchasing the future for over 200 years.
This is my signature line. It is full of awesome and win.
by KC_Satchmo on Sep 5, 2011 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
If you want to see the video of Teamster Hoffa
calling millonsof fellow Americans sons fo bitches right before President Obama speaks at the Detroit Labor Day/Political rally today, see link below. Just one more reason why MLB, unfortunately, should continue to stay away from Labor Day and the political ugliness that is associated with it today. Organized labor did great things for America, but their time as a force for good has passed.
http://www.therightscoop.com/jimmy-hoffa-on-tea-party-lets-take-these-son-of-a-bitches-out/
by Kansas City Oracle on Sep 5, 2011 2:54 PM EDT reply actions
I Could Tell
From the name I needed their perspective on this
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Sep 5, 2011 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Sorry for the political blog link - I know it usually has no place here
but in this case, it is factual and pertinent to the discussion of whether Labor Day should be big celebration in ball parks. If the President is at a Labor Day rally where the Teamster President calls millions of Americans (and presumably millions of baseball fans) SOB’s, isn’t that a reason for MLB to stay away from Labor Day celebrations?
by Kansas City Oracle on Sep 5, 2011 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Great piece, Will
although I probably disagree with your views on the matter (I think Loose Seal stated my feelings exactly-except for the growing up in an upper-middle class household…i grew up in a shanty off of 85th and Paseo when my dad wasn’t moving us from apartment to apartment every 6 months as a child).
my 14-year old sons echoes many of the anti-america rubbish that many of the people on this site are spewing, and really it just saddens me.
our country isn’t perfect by any means and has it’s share of embarrassing moments, but i believe this is still the greatest country on earth and gives the most people the most opportunity to find happiness.
there are a lot of things i would like to see changed about our culture (rampant consumerism, kowtowing to huge corporations, the general lack of intelligence that our society shows from time to time), but the great thing about America is that those things can change.
Will (and the rest of you that bemoan greedy business owners and the general terribleness of america), I’ll leave you with one last thing-keep in mind that many of the people that you and others routinely lambast on this site for being “mouth breathers” or completely backwards when it comes to stats, the “joe six-pack” types, are the same people who punch a clock at the local ford or chevy factory…so on the one hand, we’re going to hold them up as the ideal of “the working man” who would be much more successful if it wasn’t for those greedy david glass types, then on the other hand we’re going to mock and ridicule them for being idiots…which is it?
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
--Albert Einstein
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Sep 5, 2011 3:04 PM EDT reply actions
Come on, that's just silly
Disagreeing about how to assess player performance in a baseball game has exactly nothing to do with wishing the working man a bleak demise chained to a wet wall in David Glass’s debtor prison.
I just lurk here normally, but couldn’t help myself when confronted with the above.
by l'chaim-hooey on Sep 5, 2011 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Odd conclusion.
If it’s true that people making wrong-headed objections to advanced statistics in baseball are also seeing their wages cut at times of increased productivity and profitability for their businesses (and the entirety of the evidence I’ve seen on this is your assertion), then those people are both wrong about stats and deserving of keeping more of the value that they generate.
We obviously read things differently because I’m not seeing “the anti-american rubbish that many of the people on this site are spewing” but if anybody on this site has suggested that people who attack or mischaracterize advanced stats are bad people or less deserving of rights than anybody else, I’ve missed it.
i think it's the general point
that anyone who has become successful or wealthy must have done the workers wrong somehow…as i said above, there are numerous instances in american history for which we should not be too proud, and i am well aware that there are any number of greedy business owners that, given the chance, would cross lines to increase their wealth, without thinking of the larger ramifications.
however, i still believe that america is the land of opportunity and that people who are willing to work hard and are ambitious can do so…i also believe that most companies that are successful invest in their people and treat them fairly (and actually i see it first-hand from the many small, privately-owned businesses that i work with on a daily basis).
i am fine with and fully endorse employees being treated fairly, just as i think that people who take personal risk, create jobs for those people too timid or incapable to take those same risks, and profit from it along the way should be looked at with just a modicum of respect.
without workers, there are no companies…without people willing to take risks, there are no companies for those workers, so let’s be a little fair and balanced about it, that’s all.
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."
--Albert Einstein
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Sep 5, 2011 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Bit of a stretch, you think?
I agree. But the problem is that most of us “labor” and how would MLB celebrate all of us without getting into the politcal morass of organized labor?
by Kansas City Oracle on Sep 5, 2011 3:26 PM EDT reply actions
Hot dogs, beer, baked beens, 85 flavors of snack chips, potato salad & ice cream cake?
by Official Arrowhead Pride Parade on Sep 5, 2011 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Mandatory Standing
Clenched fist salute, singing of “The Internationale”
by l'chaim-hooey on Sep 5, 2011 4:05 PM EDT up reply actions
comment
I think the one thing that gets lost in all of this is that we Americans are eminently more free and able to pursue our happiness because of those who fought for worker’s rights. After all, if not for these efforts, things that we now take for granted like the 40 hour work week, mandatory vacation time, laws against child labor, etc., would not exist. We think we are beaten down by the man now? Think how bad it would be without any of these protections.
Also, I love weekends, especially those of the three day variety.
Happy Labor Day!
by txkcruck5 on Sep 5, 2011 5:02 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
That flag does look weird.
It practically looks like an optical illusion.
Great post
One of my all time favorites that I have read here. I’m not sure that I’m smart enough to have understood most of it. But, you have convnced me that we dserve special hats on our special day.
This is my signature line. It is full of awesome and win.
On iPhone so my comment will be limited
But thank you Will for elevating the sports discussion. Sadly, many of the commenters who suggest that there is no longer a need for organized labor are missing the record income inequality in our country. They are taking it all back from you as you cheer them on.
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base. — Dave Barry
by ChangingSpeeds on Sep 5, 2011 7:43 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
This is a part that confuses me...and being a public sector employee that really gets me:
many of the commenters who suggest that there is no longer a need for organized labor are missing the record income inequality in our country.
Are the people in Washington who champion organized labor or the heads of the organized labor places holding down their own salaries to help combat the income inequality? Seems to me they just stand on a different side of the aisle.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
Rock Chalk Talk
How much money do you think "the people in Washington" or "the heads of organized labor" are making
I’ve worked on Capitol Hill for the last five years, and nobody here is getting rich. The median salary for staff is about $40K or $50K, roughly in line with median income for the country as a whole The members of Congress make $170,000 — about four times the median income, which I’d guess is pretty consistent with history. There are some lobbyists making a killing, but nobody who actually works in government is contributing to the widening of income inequality.
I don’t have time to look now, but I’d guess the numbers are roughly similar for union heads. The salary and benefits for the top people would have to be publicly reported. I’d be surprised if any of them are making much more than members of Congress. I’d be shocked if any of them are making anything close to what CEOs of large corporations are making.
by KSinDC on Sep 6, 2011 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It's a strawman
but a very effective one used by Fox and the right consistently. Whisper “questions” about the wealth of labor supporters etc, somehow suggesting at times without basis that something nefarious is afoot.
I really marvel at their prowess with propaganda. It makes me sad for where this country is headed, yes, but you have to respect the evil genius of the right. I have given up hope that the middle class and blue collar class will have a great awakening and realize that they are being duped. So I am left to regrefully admire the supervillians…
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base. — Dave Barry
by ChangingSpeeds on Sep 6, 2011 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions
So only the ones on the right are getting wealthy?
Makes sense. I’m not taking a side, just completely done with all of it because they’re all in it for careers.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
Rock Chalk Talk
I think that there are plenty of wealthy people with liberal views
Warren Buffet would have to be at the top of that list. Many of these people (including Buffet) have called for higher tax rates on the rich as a way of responding to income inequality. Others are probably more hypocritical.
However, among the people actually elected to lead (in Congress or in the Unions), I think your cynicism may be unfounded. I checked the salaries of some of the union heads I know off the top of my head: Richard Trumka (AFL-CIO), Andy Stern (formerly of SEIU), and Randy Weingarten (AFT) and all make between 200 and 500K, which is a bit more than I guessed, but still well within the range that I think you can say they’re “holding down their own salaries to help combat income inequality.”
Amen, bro.
A++ post would read again
"You can't fight synergy, Lemon. It's bigger than all of us." - Jack Donaghy
I'd rather remove
all of the State worship and just enjoy the ballgame. I don’t need to be hit over the head with flags and fireworks and “bursting bombs” of patriotism.
Labor day isn’t used this way because it doesn’t glorify The State, it glorifies workers. It’s not “useful” propaganda.
Obviously, you are not a golfer.
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