 "WORK!"~Maynard Krebs, Dobie GillisMost of us like to work, really. We do quite a bit of work that we don't have to. We'll make up work if we don't have any. We may even like the jobs we do out of necessity, for money, but we just don't like to have it used against us. Considering how attached we are to work, why don't we have holiday programming around Labor Day? We have endless Thanksgiving and Christmas TV specials, and specials for most other holidays. But there's no "Charlie Brown Celebrates Labor Day," no "Andy Williams Sings America's Favorite Work Songs," no "Ted Turner's On the Job Movie Fest." We don't hear songs about work on the radio day after day, week after week. Why is Labor Day so neglected? The very words "worker" (as opposed to "employee" or even - hah - "associate") and "labor" (as opposed to "job" or "career") are tainted. Could it be ... nah, that can't be it. Anyway, in honor of all of us who work for a living, here are a few suggestions for celebrating Labor Day! WORKING CLASS HEROESMICHAEL MOOREMichael Moore is one of my favorite working class heroes because he makes me laugh. Rent any of his TV Nation shows. Though his shows were very popular, he's had difficulties getting sponsors, but Channel Four in England is now backing a new series called "The Awful Truth". Bravo is airing it in the States. His book, Adventures in a TV Nation, is about the production and political complications of this series. Do rent his award-winning documentary, "Roger and Me." His latest movie documentary, "The Big One," is out on video. Ask for it at your video store. Meanwhile check out Mike's home page and
sign up with Mike's Militia (no guns)! Read his books, Downsize This! and Adventures in a TV Nation. I've read Downsize This!; it's good. Click on the title or image to order through Amazon books.
CESAR CHAVEZAnother hero: On Labor Day 1998, the only holiday TV programming I noticed was a 2-hour documentary on the late Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers on WGBH Boston. This student of Gandhi was a saintly man. I saw Cesar Chavez when he spoke at The University of Kansas a few years ago. I knew little about him and his work though I had boycotted grapes - my favorite fruit - off and on over the years; when I produced some shows for cable TV in Manhattan, Kansas, in the late '80s, I used a UFW tape, "The Grapes of Wrath," for one program. In person, Cesar Chavez gave the impression of being a man of great integrity and steadfastness, rather than the flamboyant type of rhetoric-laden leader we are accustomed to seeing in public life. Here's a book about him (which I haven't read); there are others. You can order The Fight in the Fields through Amazon books. AARON FEUERSTEINAnything is possible in America - a CEO can be a working class hero. Aaron Feuerstein owns Malden Mills in Massachusetts. When it burned down a few years ago, he didn't take the insurance money and run. He supported his workers as long as possible until the factory was rebuilt. You hear a lot in corporations about how everyone's on the same team, etc., but it usually doesn't mean much. Aaron Feuerstein means it. If you search the Net you will find articles about him and his factory, as well as speeches he's made since then. There's also a book out by him and Lynne B. Phipps, In God We Trust: Faithful Look at Spirituality and Business. MOLLY IVINSMolly Ivins has written about the minimum wage in her Fort Worth Star-Telegram column, but of course I couldn't put that column here because of copyright. Not everything she writes has to do directly with work, but since it's always about politics, almost everything has some connection to your work life. Bookmark her column for a lucid and funny account of politics. Also take a look at these collections of past columns:
You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You: Politics in the Clinton Years is the most recent collection. "Them What Brung You" are supposed to be the people who voted to put other people in office, but once they're in, the electees seem to be dancing with whoever has given them the most money. I saw Ivins speak when she was promoting the book in Massachusetts. She's very tall, and talks like she writes, or vice versa.
Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? is the second collection.
The third collection is Nothin' But Good Times Ahead. STUDS TERKEL
Studs Terkel pointed out in a talk at the Boston Public Library a couple of years ago that newspapers do not have regular sections on labor issues in their business sections. Terkel knows what's going on, though, and has for a long time, because he talks to lots of people. Take a look at Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, one collection of his interviews.
DILBERT
Well, maybe Dilbert isn't a hero, but lots of us can identify with Dilbert's cubicle life. He bases his cartoons on stories sent in by readers, as well as his own experience. MOVIES/VIDEOSYou can rent: Roger and Me and The Big One: These documentaries by Michael Moore (see above) define the work climate in the '80s and '90s. Not to be missed. You can also rent Michael Moore's TV Nation - various episodes on several tapes. The Full Monty: English steelworkers "made redundant" (American translation: downsized) earn money by putting on a show, a la the Chippendales but more so - less clothing, more soul. Norma Rae: Based on the true story of a woman who organized a union where she worked. Sally Field. Silkwood: Cher showed she could act in this true story of a woman who blew the whistle on the nuclear plant where she worked. Mattawan: Based on the true story of organizing coal miners. Grim. 9 to 5: Dolly Parton and co-workers get revenge. Not so grim.
SONGS"God respects me when I work, but He loves me when I sing."
WORK SITESCLEANING UP OUR ACTCleaning is the Rodney Dangerfield of jobs, whether you clean your own home or go out to clean. But not only is it essential work, it is more interesting than you might think. Barbara Neely has written three mysteries about a black cleaning woman named Blanche White. She has a very cool web site, but it's too cool for my browser, unfortunately; you may have better luck. I've read the books and met Ms. Neely, and give Blanche top references. She is a sharp observer of individuals and of society, and a reminder not to discount what Neely calls "the invisible people." You might not notice them - but they see you.
In the first book, Blanche on the Lam, Blanche is living down South and working for a family that harbors a murderer.
In the second book, Blanche Among the Talented Tenth, Blanche visits a ritzy all-black resort on the New England coast where color preferences among blacks create caste and chaos.
In the third book, Blanche Cleans Up, Blanche finds something worse than dirt swept under the rug in Boston.
Margaret Horsfield refers to Blanche White in her book, Biting the Dust: The Joys of Housework, a very readable discussion of attitudes toward cleaning from the industrial revolution to 20th century advertising.
I haven't yet read, but intend to read, Louise Rafkin's book on her experiences as a professional housekeeper, Other People's Dirt. WAIT HEREEver wait tables? Check please:
TEMPUS FUGITTemp Slave. As much as 30% of the U.S. population now works temporary, contract, part-time, or contingent jobs. Looks like we're aiming at cradle to grave insecurity. I will be finding out more on what I think is the most dangerous development of the recent international trade agreements - the power corporations now have to sue sovereign governments if their laws, such as environmental or labor protection laws, cut into profits. If you haven't heard about it, it's probably because the media have been too busy with Clinton's sex life, aka the Republican's version of a third-world coup, an attempt to oust a legally elected president. Go to my conservation page. More to come as I have time... Send suggestions to: Back to my home page.  Get your own Free Homepage |
