It's Labor Day in the U.S. and a labor activist says it's perfectly o.k. to take the day off...
"...it is a break from work. That's the point. To recognize people who toil for a living. So enjoy the day!...."
That's Bill Brockmiller, president of the western Wisconsin AFL-CIO. He says he hopes workers take a moment to recognize the things they have because of the effort of organized labor...
".....I mean 40 hour work weeks and overtime. We don't have eleven year olds working in meat packing plants like we had 100 years ago. We have Sunday off and usually Saturday off. We didn't get there because there was a lot of benevolence on part of employers...."
Brockmiller says workers before this time banded together and said they need more than just work in their lives. He says they stood firm that if they were asked to do more, they needed compensation. Labor activists also note improved working conditions resulted from bargaining.
In 2013 there were 14.5 million union members in the U.S., compared with 17.7 million in 1983. In 2013, the percentage of workers belonging to a union in the United States was 11.3 percent , compared to 20.1 percent in 1983.
In this region, there's a Labor Day parade in Wausau at 4 p.m. It starts on the corner of West Wausau Avenue and Third Avenue and ends at the Labor Temple.
