A Homage to Labor Day
By Travis Holsclaw
With summer coming to an end and school and work getting back into normal swings, we are already looking forward to additional days off. One of our first days off is Labor Day. While most of us in Hillsborough County will flock to the beach or host a BBQ on this day, let’s not forget the workers who are still fighting for equal rights.
The first Monday of September is a day dedicated to the history and struggle of the American worker, known as Labor Day. It was created as a federal holiday in the late nineteenth century and signed into law by President Grover Cleveland. During the nineteenth century, trade and labor movements grew as companies became larger and richer. These movements involved both negotiation between the worker and their boss as well as bloody battles. Sometimes it merely came down to who could outlast the other. Many of the things we take for granted such as benefits, weekends, shorter work days, and child labor laws came from the struggles of these workers and their movement.
Tampa played its own role in the plight of the worker during this time. There were struggles since the start of the cigar factories until the 1930s and Roosevelt’s New Deal which helped the working man. Vincente Martínez Ybor, the founder of Ybor City, came to Tampa due to its business appeal. Tampa had an anti-labor climate as well as free land tracts. These positive conditions combined with the growing city made it a great opportunity. This brought other cigar companies including H.C. Macfarlane who developed much of West Tampa. Cubans coming from a revolution in Cuba brought radical ideas with them that played a part in the struggle of the Tampa worker. Tampa was unusual within the South due to it being a multicultural, industrial zone in the middle of the South being farmland. There was still a struggle with uniting the workers since race still played a large role. Aside from the differences between African-Americans and Caucasians, there was also a divide between the Afro-Cubans and Anglos. This paired with the difference in religion and language made it difficult for all the laborers to unite. Tampa can thank speeches from Jose Marti, a revolutionary and a writer, and groups like La Resistencia for providing a platform to bring the workers together.
Founder of Ybor City, Vicente Martinez Ybor
In the past, as many as 33% of workers were in a union in the United States. By the 1980s, this number dropped to about 20% and by 2015 it was a little over 10%. This decline in union membership has had a direct impact on an increase in inequality and profits going mostly to the top ten percent. Labor unions help increase wages and benefits for the workers, so without the unionization, executives hold on to all the power. Luckily today we have seen an increase in union membership since 2016, as shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This can be seen in renewed interest from people organizing to fight for higher wages that have remained stagnant for years. Workers are once again realizing the power they have to create change in the workforce. An example of this in Hillsborough County is adjunct professors fighting to unionize due to their low pay and high work load. They adjunct professors have made significant progress but have a long ways to go.
Tampa retailers and restaurants have taken advantage of this holiday and have transformed it into a reason for shopping and spending money. Many of the top shopping outlets hold sales during this time that can be comparable to Black Friday. However, Labor Day should be a day more widely celebrated. While we are enjoying the day off at the beach and shopping at our favorite local shops, we should remember what the day is about and stand in solidarity with our fellow workers and those that have gone before us to give us the things we take for granted.