LABOR DAY

LABOR DAY

Labor Day is as American as Apple Pie, but for me, it has to be slightly warmed with the recollection of homemade vanilla ice cream. The simple but resilient flavor union organizers brought to our home for meetings.

I grew up in a union household and witnessed how unions got started and how hard unions organizers fought. Unions are also synonymous with Labor Day.

The creation of a holiday devoted solely to workers was a significant achievement for the labor movement. "Labor Day marks a new epoch in the annals of human history," wrote Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, in the New York Times in 1910. "Among all the festive days of the year...there is not one which stands so conspicuously for the social advancement of the common people as the first Monday in September."

My father was born on August 2, 1911, a year after Mr. Gompers penned that story.

Growing up in a union household was both fascinating and heart-wrenching. My father was a licensed Merchant Marine Captain but always befriended the longshoreman because he went off to war when he was 15 with barely a ninth-grade education responding to his sense of duty. He was not "old enough," so he served in the Military Sea Transport Service (MSTS) that often delivered supplies, weapons, and goods to the armed forces until he could study for the rigorous Captains license of the Merchant Marines. The MSTS was often in the thick of the battle.

Our home was often the scene of secret union meetings. The gatherings smelled of beer and cheap cigars but always lots of boisterous conversation. Union organizers were always respectful of my father and kind to us kids. First, my father fought to get unions started, and then he fought unions to hold them accountable to their original mission of representing the working class and all workers, including workers of color.

Unions do not have a perfect history, nor does Labor Day quite frankly. Some very bloody battles occurred to ensure the rights of workers throughout our nations history.

When I think about or celebrate Labor Day, I think about the Unions my father was thrown in jail for organizing. He and his best friend Vern Lloyd, a long-haul trucker and life-long Teamster, got into many fistfights with union bashers over securing the rights of the working class. Mr. Lloyd and my Papa would joke around about who had the best-left hook, but my father would concede, "it was Vernie; you should have seen that bastard fight."

My father was a very colorful gentleman. In fact, my now 94-year-old mother recollects the FBI came knocking at our door when I was a toddler because my father was very vocal about Unions and socialism. His version of socialism was so much more akin to just plain human rights in 2021, but McCarthyism had a broach reach. Senator Bernie Sander's politics is tame compared to the concerns of my father and his peers. My father was a card-carrying socialist who worshipped in the Episcopal church. If someone can explain that to me, I will be appreciative because my father lived many contradictions but not about unions, workers, and human rights.

My father was best friends with Congressman Wayne Morse, and they both had plenty to say about America's involvement in the Vietnam war. I imagine they would both be vocal about our nation's long involvement in Afghanistan, but that's another post.

While I resented his many months-long trips worldwide, I looked forward to when Papa brought back toys and foods from far away places. I did not understand my father's obsession with justice. His meetings, events, and anger about injustice often took him away from his home and seven children. I did not fully comprehend what I know now.

Labor Day beckons us to pause and reflect upon the progression of the labor movement in the USA. It fits for us to commemorate the contributions unions have made for working-class people. From my father’s stories on the front line, the rights were hard-fought battles. So many workers lost their jobs, and sometimes their lives as Union history like our Civil Rights history was filled with violence from those resisting any change no matter how noble.

A lot of people don't like unions because unions have been typecast. I considering never ordering from Amazon Prime again and canceling my membership. Amazon is undoubtedly not pro-union, and your wonder--why??It is difficult to fathom why a company is unwilling to offer a decent living wage and benefits when the Founder has more money than anyone can spend in a lifetime. Meanwhile, Bezos spends millions to fly to space to his own workers' sacrifices. Hey, I didn't say it—he did when he returned to earth. Unfortunately, it seems he learned little from his fancy trip because Amazon will refuse decent compensation and workers' rights over lining this billionaire's pocket.

You know we all dream of having a roof over our head, a decent wage, and the ability to travel or help our own children have a better life. I live in a working-class neighborhood, one block from one of the wealthiest communities in Oregon. I am amazed during my walk how divided our nation is when it comes to economic and employment opportunities and benefits. Why should one sector, one race, or even one gender benefit more than others? There is an overabundance in one sector of society while so many are struggling and suffering. I do not get human nature.

But, I guess I have my Papa's spirit as I, too, have dedicated my life to exposing injustice and fighting for parity and for those excluded from simply the same joys the wealthy take for granted. I think canceling my prime membership is overdue.

I am grateful for Labor Day. I am thankful for the reminders of my father, although as a little girl, I did not fully comprehend the labor movement's impact.?Finally, I am grateful for my father and others fighting for our right to have a collective voice at the workplace and advocacy to push both political parties to pass humane legislation limiting employers' exploitation out of greed and lack of concern for safety or the workers' welfare.

?I guess I will always be my father-daughter, and with that said. Thank you, Unions, for being a voice for the worker and dear Unions; remember your roots welcome diversity, strive for equality, be welcoming and inclusive and always fight for justice.

In Memorium to my father, Captain Ralph Stuart Warner Senior 1911-1974

Elizabeth Asahi (Warner) Sato

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