CRS
Chandler, Arizona, United States

There's an old saying. If you don't want someone to join a crowd, you ask them, "If everyone were jumping off of a cliff, would you?" Well, I have. So my answer would be "Yes". True story.
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A Facebook Convo About Labor Day

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

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I realized today that I've never actually posted anything about Labor Day, which is unusual for me, considering my political affiliation, and my propensity to post about politics on this blog. Yesterday I made a Facebook update about Labor Day, and a friend responded, and I thought that back-and-forth would be worth showing, even though, well, yesterday was Labor Day.


Chris Waites
Monday at 3:33pm

ยท I don't think I've ever had a job where 1) I ever got Labor Day off, and 2) I even got paid holiday pay for Labor Day. What a beautiful, remarkable country, where everybody is equal.

Lisa Blade Oh Christ, don't be that guy. It has nothing to do with equality, it's the industry you work in. You choose where you want to work, so work someplace that is closed on holidays, like a credit union, a post office, or for the government, like a school. you'll get every holiday off. It's like working at a car wash and then bitching that you have to work outside during the summer.

Chris Waites Well, I don;'t know what you mean by "that guy", I think it's a fair observation to make. We're the only western country that has no required paid holidays by the government. I think that's worth talking about.

Lisa Blade It is a valid point to say that the government does not require that private business close on certain national holidays. The government does require it for the jobs they have control over, however. They also require that businesses pay their employees "holiday pay" if they require them to work on national holidays though. It's sort of a compromise; don't force private companies to adhere to their laws as well as giving some sort of benefit to the employees for working the holiday.

Chris Waites See, that's just it-- it's no requirement, not for any holiday. I'm not saying every company should have the day off-- I work for a grocery store, it sucks when grocery stores are randomly closed. But there are no government required holiday pay days. It is a common part of a compensation package, but is not a requirement. Not even for Christmas, unfortunately.

Lisa Blade I gotta agree with you, but this is where I state choice: I won't work for a company that doesn't have paid holidays, paid vacation and health insurance (or at least a health insurance stipend) no one is forcing you to work there. There are options for employment. We don't live on a communist society or a place where you're given your career chip and you're assigned the "job you're best at" and "you gotta do what you gotta do!" You should feel empowered that you're given a choice. Choice is freedom, what our country brags about.

I'm not discounting your point; it would be nice to live in a country that gives 2 months of vacation a year (sweden) but what would you trade for that? There are a dozen things you would have to give up to have that.

What a lot of people don't understand is the more your government gives out for free, the less freedoms you have. The more they give you, the more they can control you, the more you have that can be taken away.

Chris Waites I fundamentally disagree with that argument, Lisa. I do think that maybe 2 months vacation is a bit excessive, and I understand that our government works differently than that. Of course I do. But I also disagree with this notion that the government actually working for the people it's supposed to be working for is somehow going to take away any freedoms away from anyone. I think that's an argument that sounds like it makes sense, the more they give you in one direction they take away in another, but that would assume so many things about a government that aren't true in America. I think that's a rhetorical question that doesn't neccesarily work out in reality. Now, if we're talking about taking away freedom for safety based on the notion of fear, that is obviously a different story. Still, the question here is about paid holidays, specifically. You say that this isn't a communist country and that I don't have to work here, and that's fair enough, but, for one, this is not unique in the places I've worked. I've literally never gotten Labor day off in any job I've ever had, ever. I've never been paid for Labor Day other than the base pay for the hours I worked. And were I to find a job where that wasn;'t the case, where I WAS being paid for Labor day, in what way would I then be more deserving of that? It's Labor Day. A day that was founded on the idea that Laborers fundamentally have rights. If I had a different job that actually had paid for Labor Day, in what way would I be MORE deserving of Labor Day holiday pay than I am now? If the concept is that all workers are equal because we all sacrifice, how is it that some sacrifice is worth more than other's, just depending on how more or less fucked you are? I'm not saying I deserve something anyone else doesn't get. Quite the opposite.

Chris Waites Furthermore, I would argue that a day like Labor Day is MORE deserving of federally required holiday pay than religious based ones.

Lisa Blade I just gotta get it out that the very last part I wholeheartedly agree with.
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with love from CRS @ 2:49 PM 

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