Time was, Americans honored labor unions on Labor Day. For a long time now, not so much. The Memorial Day and Labor Day long weekends are the bookends of the American summer. Neither has much meaning to average folks beyond time off work.
Time was, labor unions were the vehicle for improvements in the lives of workers. For a long time now, not so much. Most improvements today come via the government, and they come only rarely.
Now, the best economic conditions (and job markets) exist in states with right to work laws. For the uninitiated, those are laws which prohibit union contracts mandating union membership by, or contributions from, all workers in the bargaining unit. Such laws have the frank purpose of weakening labor unions in situations where the employer is not abusive to the workforce.
It's a funny old world.
