Jason Pascal: Bloomington Labor Day Parade celebrates workers, solidarity

On September 7, we'll mark 132 years of Labor Day as a national holiday. For some folks, it's an extended weekend, cookouts, and relaxation. We invite the community to join us at 10 a.m. Monday, for Bloomington's Labor Day Parade, from downtown to Miller Park. Our Labor Day Parade is a festive event, and I'm so proud of our parade. Our community's unions march, interspersed with high school bands, community organizations, and vote-seeking politicians. The sidewalks are jam-packed, and everyone receives a rousing reception as the parade winds through Bloomington's westside, working-class neighborhoods. As the nation marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our parade theme is 'Solidarity for the next 250.' It's our working people's day to shine; in a celebrity-fixated culture, the letter carrier, electrician, custodian, and baker are cheered and applauded. People who clock in daily and do their job without any glory are honored on Labor Day. It's a reminder that our society works because people work – the lights flip on, the toilet flushes, the mail arrives, and the waiting bus keeps our society functioning. Without workers' commitment, our world would quickly fall apart. Unions provide the united strength to win fairness and dignity on the job, allowing people to hold their heads high.On September 5, 1882, when New York City workers staged the first Labor Day, it was a protest, with workers taking to the streets demanding recognition. The twelve-hour day, six-day-a-week work world was the norm, with abhorrent safety conditions and low wages. Workers stood up, and the Labor Day movement spread across the nation. Illinois was three years ahead of the holiday's 1894 federal recognition. Our first Bloomington Labor Day Parade marched on September 7, 1891, from downtown to Franklin Park, where Adlai Stevenson I addressed the 700 participants. Labor Day should be our roots day. We should remember the prior generations that often risked their life for an eight-hour day and a pay raise. When workers strike, those old spirits are resurrected – an injury to one is an injury to all — as people walk the line and risk their livelihoods, holding out for one more day, seeking decency. AFSCME Local 1110 workers stood firm for their rights this past spring at Illinois State University, teaching all of us a positive lesson. Our economy is increasingly described as a 'K' economy: one segment growing richer daily, many working people on a downward spiral. The solution is concerted action and unity, on the job and at election time, reminding our society that 'the rich get richer' is not written in unbreakable stone, but only if we sing a new song and reconstruct our priorities. Celebrate, but reflect on where we started, and dare to envision a different, fairer world. Jason Pascal Jason Pascal is the President of the Bloomington & Normal Trades & Labor Assembly (AFL-CIO) and a member of Laborers International Union of North America Local 362. Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!