PSoTD

1906 ITU National Strike Produced Eight-Hour Day

A century ago, the International Typographical Union set the stage for the eight-hour day in American workplaces with a $4 million campaign.

In 1906, the ITU struck most major U.S. cities to demand an eight-hour work day. The union had lost a fight for a nine-hour day a few years earlier. But this time, the union spent over $4 million to support its striking locals. Not only did the ITU win an eight-hour work day, but the ITU strike paved the way for similar gains by the five other printing unions.

A great advance for a better life by the working class for $4 million, even when inflation adjusted, considering that America has now had 100 years of the eight-hour work day.

From Ted Watts, author of The First Labor Day Parade.

The first parade was not held on a Monday, but on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. The parade was repeated annually without interruption, but not always on a Monday, until several states and then the Congress in 1894, settled on the first Monday in September.

Those first parades were really protest rallies for the adoption of the 8-hour day, rather than the, often tame civic events they have involved into. Participants had to give up a day's pay in order to march. The New York City Central Labor Union (CLU) even levied a fine on non-participants!

And what should parades on next year's Labor Day rally for?

Thankfully there are drag racers, at least they have an idea what this upcoming holiday is about.

Top Fuel driver David Baca won't let the pomp and circumstance surrounding this weekend's prestigious 52nd annual Mac Tool U.S. Nationals overshadow the real meaning of this extended holiday weekend and he's using his 8,000-horsepower Mach 1 Air Services dragster to prove his point.

Throughout the extended race weekend, which leads into Monday's eliminations on Labor Day, Baca and his team will salute the American worker with a large decal on each side of his red, white, and blue racecar. It's his way of paying homage to the men and women that have made the United States of America the best country on Earth.

"In drag racing, we think about Labor Day and we think about Indy and the U.S. Nationals," said Baca, who was the No. 1 qualifier here in 2003. "We're programmed that way and that's cool. But I don't want people to lose sight of the fact this is Labor Day weekend. It's not just an extra day off, or even Indy weekend, it's the way we thank the American worker for all they have done to make this country great.

Ryanair's web site is a bit quirky, what with the picture of Churchill in an advertisement for flights saying "Let's Beat Terrorism". Then there's the Irish airline's New Airport Security Procedures...

OSHA proposes $143,000 in fines for Russellville plant

Associated Press RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. - The federal government has proposed $143,000 in fines for Gold Kist for allegedly exposing workers to serious and repeated safety hazards at its Russellville poultry processing plant, labor officials said Wednesday.

"When employers shirk their responsibility to keep workplaces free of hazards, the results can be tragic for workers and their families," said Roberto Sanchez, the Birmingham-area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Gold Kist was cited for 21 serious violations totaling $90,000 in fines for unsafe floor conditions, inadequate personal protective equipment and insufficient machine guarding. The company also received two repeat citations, with a fine of $50,000, for not keeping conveyor belt work areas free from fall hazards and other unsafe conditions. OSHA issued one other citation, with a fine of $3,000, for not complying with required record-keeping procedures.

The company plans to contest some of the citations and proposed fines within the next 15 days.

"We have one of the best records in the poultry industry," Wayne Lord, vice president of corporate relations, said. "Our company has won numerous awards for our safety programs. Safety is a top priority."

Great P.R. ain't the same as following the law, Mr. Lord.

From the St. Petersburg Times:

Jose Alvarez Jeronimo had been in Florida about six months, working construction jobs without legal status, his brother said. He loved Latin music and was religious.

The 16-year-old Jeronimo died Thursday evening after being struck by lightning while working on the roof of a house under construction in Wesley Chapel.

According to state and federal law, he never should have been up there.

Florida Statutes say employers who hire underage workers can be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in prison and up to $2,500 in fines.

"Generally, minors are not supposed to be involved in roofing operations because there's a perception that it's dangerous," said Karen Buesing, a Tampa labor and employment attorney.

She added: "If you're standing on top of a roof and lightning strikes, it doesn't matter what your age is."

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office ruled Jeronimo's death accidental and has referred the issues of his age and immigration status to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

A Tampa OSHA official did not return calls for comment Friday.

Juan Jeronimo, 21, arrived at the scene and identified his brother. Up to then authorities thought Jose Jeronimo was 18, the sheriff's report said.

Juan Jeronimo said he doesn't think his brother lied about his age to his bosses.

Messages left with RAC Construction Framing owner Raudel Carrizal, who employed Jeronimo, and Tripp Trademark Homes, which is building the house, were not returned Friday evening.

I don't know what that advertisement is really about at the right, but I can't think of anyone that would want a John McCain ringtone unless they are some kind of incredibly dweebish "conservative maverick" political wannabee. What the hell does it sound like? Is it the sound of McCain politely laughing while having his ass handed to him by Jon Stewart? It's just an appallingly stupid marketing approach.

If in Britain...

Win £1000 and the chance to get your sex toy made!

Think you know what would make the perfect sex toy? You could win £1,000 and have your idea turned into reality! Leading online sex toy retailer LoveHoney has teamed up with international sex expert Tracey Cox and the Orgasm Army sex toy review site to launch the UK's first ever Design A Sex Toy competition.

Of course, I'd be more interested if in the likelihood of an American version of this contest, they team up with the The Rube Goldberg Machine Contest for some real eyeopeners.

Found on a Google search for the term "Christian":

Subaru Sweeps X Games 12 http://www.subaru.com/misc/allwheeldeal06/index.jsp?model=impreza The Subaru Impreza WRX STI It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru. www.subaru.com

With all the hassles that come with travel by air, burdened now by additional delays that will come with new security practices, will Americans decide they'd rather vacation in 2007 within driving distance?

Places like Mackinac Island, Michigan, are hoping they will. 2006 has been a down year for the spot.

Kathy pointed me to this site a few days ago. Excellent idea and site, using the web to share experiences and consolidate information about airline performance for the consumer.

Pioneer Photo Albums, Inc., and others in that industry may find it a hard slog to survive in the business:

About one-third of digital camera users in the UK are not backing up their photographs, reveals research.

But at the same time, the survey of 2,227 consumers revealed 89% of those quizzed now own a digital camera or camera-phone.

...

The survey also found that people are changing the ways they view their snaps. The traditional photo album may be in demise; about seven out of 10 are printing less than a quarter of their images, while 30% said that they did not print out any hard-copies.

Photographers are increasingly turning to the internet to upload their pictures.

Trade credit insurer Euler Hermes predicts that business failures will increase by 8 percent in the United States next year.

Corporate insolvencies are down this year, primarily due to bankruptcy reform, according to Euler Hermes. But a cooling housing market, high energy prices and rising interest rates "will certainly put pressure on business failures throughout the next year," says Dan North, chief economist for Euler Hermes.

The Federal Government may do something along the lines of what I'm going to suggest, and if so, I hope somebody points me in that direction.

I flew United this weekend, and it sucked almost every way it could. Cancelled flights, long lines, continuing delays... and the worst thing about it was that United did not appear to be even remotely close to adequate staffing at their ticket center in Philadelphia. I had to go through the ticket lines twice - once upon my first cancellation, the second upon a 3 hour plus delay that was going to keep me from catching my connecting in LA (which was, of course, never to arrive that night, leaving me with the option of taking the shuttle to Bakersfield from LAX or staying the night at a cheap hotel in LA - I took the shuttle). I didn't fly ONE United flight on Saturday. And frankly, I don't plan on taking any United flights again for a long, long, time.

I'm writing United, but I sure feel that it's unsatisfactory. When I booked my flight, I had options to book through USAir, Continental, or United. The prices were similar, I took United because of the arrival and departure times, which ended up not mattering. What I wish I had access to when I booked my flight was a statistical complaint compilation of airlines, put together by an unrelated third party, done by an organization I know and have some trust level in the data.

What I would like is for the FAA to do this. I'd like them to catalog and code complaints for every airline with flights in the U.S., and make the overall information available to the public on the web. I'd like to know number of complaints by various category per 1 million air miles. It's not the federal government's job to provide customer service for those complaints, but it is a worthwhile job to hold a current and continuing statistical analysis of those complaints to the feet of the airlines. And, as part of law, all airline web sites would be required to post their most current "analysis" at their site, as well as have it as the centralized FAA web site.

Maybe this is already being done and I wasn't savvy enough to find it. But if it isn't... I think it's time.

But then what can one expect from someone who believes:

"People first. Then money. Then things."

Apparently, experiences don't fit anywhere into her accountingview of life. Kind of revealing...