Today is May 1rst, a day celebrated in many countries as ‘May Day’, including in Canada and less so in the U.S. It should be noted that May Day is one of the most important holidays in communist countries such as China, North Korea, Cuba and the former Soviet Union countries. Since the late 19th century, unions and worker groups have celebrated the first day in May as an International Workers’ Day, since referred to as May Day. In North America, May Day largely grew out of the 19th-century labour movement for worker’s rights and an eight-hour workday in the U.S. and Canada. In numerous cities, there will be parades, picnics and celebratory gatherings by both unionized and non-unionized workers and families. However, historically, both the U.S. and Canada chose to celebrate the contribution of workers on an alternative national statutory holiday in September, ‘Labour Day’. So much for the history lesson.
The fact is that May Day is celebrated much more in Europe where countries have long ago implemented universal health care systems, extensive social welfare nets, labour standards laws and other programs aimed at improving and protecting the livelihoods and health of workers. This is why European countries did not need to introduce very many new assistance programs during the current pandemic, as their existing programs, including paid sick leave and unemployment benefits, cover most of the labour force. Europe remains a relative stronghold of social democracy in which higher levels of taxation fund national health care systems as well as programs that automatically help those who lose their jobs. In this way, European countries generally seek to limit economic volatility. In addition, unions play a greater role in Europe than in the U.S., often sitting on management boards in countries like Germany, Sweden, the U.K., Austria, France and several others. Together with a right to elect work councils, this is often called “codetermination” — something rarely seen in the U.S. or Canada.
On the other hand, the American economy has been described as a study of inequality, with risks and rewards stretching to extremes, and failures often capable of precipitating disaster, as unemployment frequently separates people from their health insurance policies. This has forced the U.S. to be much more dependent on economic growth and emergency relief injections if something goes wrong, as it has under the current pandemic. The Biden administration is pouring trillions of dollars into supporting American families and communities adversely affected by the pandemic, hoping to stimulate the economy as the U.S. emerges eventually from government-imposed shutdowns. Increasing economic growth is expected to continue, but there are questions as to just who will benefit from such growth? Recent studies have indicated that the rich have gotten richer. Wall Street has thrived versus the evident losses experienced by the Main Street economy, especially small businesses and their workers.
With the decline in private sector unionization in the U.S. and Canada, there are fewer and fewer workers willing to march on this May Day. The pandemic may have greatly knocked the wind right out of the unions’ sails. There is also every indication that the pandemic may further reduce the number of good paying blue collar jobs, leaving many workers scrambling to secure employment in lower paying non-unionized jobs. Alas, it is really difficult to happily celebrate this year’s May Day, or next Labour Day for that matter.
FROLITICKS 