Workers of the World Unite!

May Day represents many things--one is to celebrate workers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day.

It wasn't that long ago--just over 100 years--that police attacked striking workers to keep them in line. One of the ironies of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire http://lynnecoll.blogspot.com/2011/03/sad-anniversary-thetriangle-shirtwaist.html was that the policeman who beat back the 1909 strikers were among those trying to save the same workers two years later from the fire. Perhaps a successful strike would have curbed some of the practices (e.g. locked doors on the factory floors) that contributed to the deaths of many workers.

In an age when politicians are practically rabid in their zeal to blame union workers for economic problems, we need to remember why unions are needed to protect workers. We need to remember the sacrifices made by workers who didn't have protections.

For the workers all over the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kxq9uFDes,