Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

I didn’t know where the holiday originated, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. It says that the first Labor Day here in the US was celebrated back on September 5th 1882 in NYC. After workers were killed by US Army soldiers and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike – the President at the time – Grover Cleveland – put reconciliation with labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation declaring Labor Day a national holiday was spearheaded through Congress – it passed unanimously – and was signed into law six days after the end of the strike. FYI – the Pullman strike involved violent disputes between the unions and the railroads.

So now you know where Labor Day began. Fast forward to 2009. I just drove the 600 miles from wherever I was to just West of Jacksonville. I’m tired. Including myself, there was a lot of trucks on the road. Obviously “we” didn’t have the day off like the stock market, Federal government employees and of course, the sales, safety and operations people who work for the carriers. They’re home, “we’re” not.

For the record, as of today, there are 15 million people unemployed in the US. The percentage is almost at 10%, the highest level in years. Last month, the economy bled 250,000 jobs. Foreclosures – not from the ranks of adjustable mortgages or where people got homes for no money down – but from conventional mortgage holders. Somehow, we – I should say – greedy businessmen are going to have to start hiring 125,000 folks a month in order to stop that percentage from rising higher. Listening to the Labor Secretary on the radio today, telling people to go back to school – take advantage of the “many” government programs available and get “other” jobs only caused my stomach to turn. After she added that Pell Grants are easily obtainable as I try – and I’m employed – to come up with $900 to pay my son’s college tuition because we can’t get a loan – well, I thought here’s another rich Obama “official” living in liberal fantasy land.

Also, one year ago today – Labor Day – the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Combined they hold over 5 1/2 trillion dollars in mortgages. They were given a $100 billion dollar bailout. One year later, credit is extremely tight whether you run a trucking company, an airline or small manufacturing concern. While the Obama Administration continues to oversee these two entities, they have offered no strategy as to how to successfully manage them. We’ll have to wait until February, when they say they will have some sort of plan. Meanwhile companies continue to go bankrupt and eliminate jobs because they cannot obtain credit.

Today, by the way, is the biggest home improvement day of the year. Yes, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, Wal-Mart, Target and the rest were open. Their employees celebrate the holiday by working. Today more people “dig-out” their Christmas lights than at any other time of the year. No I’m not kidding. And please permit me a senior moment – when I was a kid – nothing was open. Back then there was also talk of a 4 day work week someday. Computers were going to make our lives so much easier. The way things are going, I don’t think our kids will be celebrating this holiday – not so much a holiday – in future years. There is no talk of working less – just more – and for less money than you probably earned five years ago. If you lucky enough to have the day off, enjoy it.

Photo credit: http://www.oldcitypics.com/images/empire-state-workers-1930.jpg