Photo: Spencer Platt (Getty Images)

Labor Day sounds like the name of a holiday that is all about American workers, but most of us simply see it as Monday that gives us a coveted three-day weekend to give summer one last hurray.

It has long been debated whether Labor Day is really a holiday for the working class – or a cheap ploy used by capitalist overlords to make ordinary people believe they are valued before they leave on Tuesday in the expectation that they will be grateful for returning to everyday life there is a single day of rest. Either way, you should celebrate it as if it were a holiday honoring the workers and claim or reclaim it in a way that honors the working class. Hit the beach, prepare for fall, take advantage of the rampant Labor Day sales to save a few dollars – but first let’s learn about the history.

When and how did Labor Day start?

This is the Ministry of Labor says on the holiday: “Labor Day is the first Monday in September and is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday has its roots in the late nineteenth century when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity and wellbeing. “

First things first, then. Celebrate the social and economic accomplishments of your work over the past year. You worked hard – especially hard – during a pandemic, a tense election season, an ongoing national reckoning of systemic racism and police brutality, climate change, and your own unique problems. All of this has generated revenue for your company, dutifully checked in to bosses on Slack and email, or otherwise contributed in unimaginable ways. Hell, if you spent even a dollar of your hard-earned cash on a coffee this year, you contributed to your local economy.

Enjoy your big day, even if some criticize the holiday. (Though they make some good points.)

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What is the Labor Day Criticism?

Two years ago, writer and radical organizer Kim Kelly wrote wrote Teen Vogue says, “Labor Day is a Government Scam”. That can be true even if you fire up the barbecue one last time this weekend or if you sleep in a little on Monday. It is not wrong to acknowledge the problems associated with Labor Day or anything else, especially things that are being distributed by the government, be it a single day of seemingly endless work or official statements about our recent departure from Afghanistan. Question everything. It is good practice.

Did then-President Grover Cleveland sign Labor Day law to appeal to working-class voters or quell left-wing differences before the 1896 elections? As Kelly explained, Cleveland wasn’t even looking for re-election, so no one is really sure. There is a dispute over which organizer came up with the idea from the time, but what we do know for sure is that Cleveland has declared the first Monday in September a Workers Holiday.

Kelly also contradicted this Labor Department statement, pointing out that the “Celebration of the Social and Economic Achievements of American Workers” is granted only to American workers who happen to have schedules and work for companies that allow them to work on Mondays at all. The existence of the beach boom and sales we associate with the vacation is proof enough that it’s not for all workers: while you’re on the shore someone has to edit the scores on the boardwalk so you can waste your time on a soft toy to win animal. While you are at a dealership, someone will need to work so you can take the test drive. It’s not really a Workers Day holiday when office workers and CEOs laze around while low-wage workers are still toiling, is it? Think of these people if you are lucky enough to get a three day weekend this year.

Can you still celebrate workers when the holiday is some kind of bill?

You should definitely celebrate Labor Day and Workers Day, yourself! In 2016, New York based teamster Tim Goulet challenged the categorization of the working day as the “boss’s holiday” in the socialist magazine Jacobin.

“Many portray it as a symbolic ‘gift’ from capitalist politicians who wanted a clean May Day that could capture militancy and disperse it into ‘responsible’ channels. In this narrative, Labor Day is referred to as “the holiday of the bosses,” which marks the historic defeat of the working class, “he wrote. “Not only does this misrepresent the course of the day, but it also forces us to move one public holiday forward over the other, as if there wasn’t enough space in the calendar for two days when the workers were celebrated.”

Goulet pointed out that the same radical thinkers who promoted and celebrated the early Labor Days brought us the victories of other hard-won workers like the Eight-Hour Day.

You see, Labor Day was celebrated in New York City in 1882, planned by the Central Labor Union long before Cleveland would officially anchor it. Goulet stated that the roots of the holiday as a worker-organized event were still significant even if the modern version of the first Monday in September went off course. Think of all the holidays that you celebrate. Which, if any, have remained true to their origins? Certainly not Halloween! Certainly not Christmas! Holidays keep evolving, deviating from their intended purpose, and constantly getting caught up in the capitalist whirlpool, but it is the way we celebrate them and the value we personally attach to them that make them special.

What more can we do to celebrate workers?

Every May 1st we celebrate May 1st or International Workers Day. Labor Day, Goulet noted, predated the Haymarket events of 1886 that inspired May Day, but both were and are important to the working class and the history of their people.

We usually think of Labor Day as the end of summer and Memorial Day as the start of the season. Memorial Day is important, of course, but next year you should try to remake summer between May and Labor Days, and then spend the whole season – and all year – celebrating workers and the working class about their history read and find ways to support them and the parts of the movement that really appeal to you.

The labor rights movement looks different today than it did in the 19th century, but it goes on. Activists are now fighting for paid parental leave and paid sick leave. Newsrooms across the country are unionized. Workers in various industries go on strike for better treatment, higher wages and better benefits. Lawyers fight for – and win – an hourly wage of $ 15. Labor Day is for you and Labor Day is for you, but so is every other day of the year. So do some research and do what you can to help.

And don’t forget to relax on Monday if you can. You deserve it, and it’s what the original Labor Day celebrations want, even if the holiday’s history and intentions have gotten mixed up over time.

Photo: Klara_Steffkova (Shutterstock)

One of the things I realized when I got my first kayak was that I also had to buy my own PFD or personal flotation device. Usually when you rent a boat the staff will give you a life jacket and you will try to ignore how uncomfortable it is while trying to have fun on your boat. But now that you can buy your own, it’s time to consider your options.

Why you need a personal swimming device

The Coast Guard recommends that every pleasure craft contain a PFD for every person on board – and yes, that includes paddle boards. Other laws and regulations may apply: For example, in a state park, you must obey park rules. In general, children and non-swimmers should wear a PFD when on the water; Adults who can swim don’t need to wear one, but should still have one on board.

Adult PFDs don’t always suit children, so plan ahead. Even before I had my own boat, I owned several child-sized life jackets that were approved by the Coast Guard. That way I was able to take my young son on a family canoe trip without having to worry about the rental shop having one his size. Child PFDs are too ideal for swimming pools.

PFDs come in different styles

PFDs are required by law to wear large, clear labels that state what type they are and for whom they are intended. Children’s life jackets are marked as weighted: PFDs for infants up to 30 pounds, PFDs for children from 30 to 50 pounds, and PFDs for teenagers from 50 to 90 pounds. In addition, they can begin to wear adult models.

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This Coast Guard brochure discusses the properties of different types of PFDs. There are models that are suitable for kayaking and that have plenty of room to move your shoulders. There are hunting PFDs with mesh and camouflage patterns, and those designed to keep you warm in cold water. There are PFDs that inflate automatically and others that inflate when you pull on a string.

Think about which variety you need

The minimalist styles are appealing if you don’t want to wear a full life jacket but also find it silly to have just one PFD on your boat (which it is – the Coast Guard notes in their brochure that with most boat deaths in calm water, the deceased had a life jacket on board). But you have to be honest with yourself whether they really make sense to you.

I have one of these, a belt style that is manually inflated. In an emergency, I would have to pull the cord and a CO2 cartridge would inflate a yellow sack inside. This bag would sit in front of my chest like a bib when inflated, and I would attach a strap to the bib around my neck. This is a lot to do in an emergency, so this style is only recommended for people who are already good swimmers and don’t expect to be caught by surprise (e.g., being knocked off the boat). But who’s doing it again?

I also have a paddle style vest and it’s definitely a better choice for most situations. If I fell off my boat and couldn’t get back in, it would keep me afloat so I wouldn’t have to expend all my energy treading water and it might even help keep me warm a bit.

PFDs for children have a few additional features beyond the adult versions: they have a strap that runs between their legs to keep a child from sliding out of their vest, and they have a top handle to keep a child out of the water can pull if needed. Many child models and some adult models have a pillow that can help keep your face up when you hover for a long time or even pass out.

Water safety is more than just wearing a PFD, but wearing a well-chosen and well-fitting PFD will get you off to a great start. As a coast guard mention, that, the best PFD is the one you will carry.

Screenshot: Run Lola Run / Sony Pictures Classics

Just when it was thought that blockbuster films couldn’t get any longer, the fine folks at Universal Pictures announced the run time for the next long-delayed entry in the James Bond franchise. When it opens in the US in October, No Time to Die will keep moviegoers in their seats for 2 hours and 43 minutes. Pretty epic for a spy pirate.

No Bond film was short, mind you: Quantum of Solace, the shortest in the series’ history, lasts 106 minutes; 2015’s Specter is the second longest at 158 ​​minutes. And Bond isn’t even an outlier among modern franchises: Avengers Endgame lasted 182 minutes and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker took 155 minutes. It seems that everyone these days thinks they are David Lean and that every action film is Lawrence of Arabia.

Long movies are sometimes great, but length isn’t always (or often) a quality determiner. Hell, some of the greatest movies in history – spanning decades and a wide variety of genres – tell their stories very effectively in 90 minutes or less. What follows are 26 of our favorites. Wait. It’s about to get pithy up here.