8/28 Weekly + Labor Day
Hi all,
I have a quick writeup on Labor Day and some information on UAEA resources. There are a few reminders near the end - I’m trying something new this week and putting old information at the end of the email instead of up top. Let me know what you think.
Labor Day: This coming Monday, September 1st, is the Labor Day Holiday. Please don’t come to work if you’re not scheduled.
I’ve written a little bit about Labor Day and International Worker’s Day/May Day in prior emails but wanted to add a few more details that I’ve learned since those writeups. I said in the International Worker’s Day email that Grover Cleveland supported the creation of a September labor-focused holiday (in 1894) to take attention away from May Day/the Haymarket Massacre. That may be accurate but it’s also true that US labor organizations started leading the charge for a labor holiday back in 1882, 12 years before President Cleveland. On September 5th of that year a group of labor organizations marched through New York demanding better pay, shorter working hours, improved safety standards, and the creation of a labor holiday. This march became an annual tradition for labor organizations across America, and by the end of 1887 23 states had already created their own labor day holidays on the first Monday of every September.
Labor Day may have remained a state holiday if not for the Pullman Strike of 1894. That strike (mentioned in this email) involved 125,000 railroad workers striking for better wages - since they weren’t loading or unloading trains, the effects on commerce were immediate and dramatic. After the unions refused to follow federal injunctions related to the strike, the federal government sent in troops to help resume shipping operations - as many as 30 union members were killed in the ensuing fighting. Though the troops were successful at breaking the strike, it seems Cleveland was concerned about political backlash for his anti-labor actions - 6 days after the strike ended, he declared Labor Day a national holiday.
I mention this because it ultimately doesn’t matter whether Grover Cleveland created the national holiday - he did so only because of the power of workers and built it on a framework that had already come before. Having a September celebration of labor day doesn’t take away from International Worker’s Day - if anything, it supports it by giving us an excuse to celebrate the importance and power of workers twice a year.
Anyways, this was a little bit of history but the important thing is reiterating that society can’t exist without workers and that the progress of worker rights is worth celebrating. There’s a little bit of a dispute over who initially proposed the idea of a labor holiday but Peter McGuire (a cofounder of the AFL), seems to have a legitimate claim - he is credited with saying “the laboring classes” deserve a holiday since they “…have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.” That still seems unambiguously true - we see that reflected in the giant towers slowly emerging around Tempe Town Lake or even the more mundane but still miraculous services we sometimes take for granted like trash pickup, water main repair, or document processing. Society would not exist without workers and the energy they expend to make things happen - we should all take at least one day a year to recognize all labor has done and think critically about where we want labor groups to take us in the future.
One last thing - if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, Tempe Tourism put out an event calendar and list of ideas for things going on in and around Tempe.
Family Day: I don’t know if everyone saw Rosa’s email from last week but Tempe is putting on a “Take Your Child to Work Day” event for employees with children on October 7th. You can find out more information (and sign up) here. Children from ages 6 to 17 are allowed to attend. UAEA has been pushing for more employee events for a while - please sign up if you’re interested to show that the demand is there.
Flu Shots: I’ve attached an email from HR about upcoming opportunities for free flu shots. You can get shots on your own time at your favorite pharmacy but you’ll probably pay a copay - going on City time also means you get paid while doing it. There will be upcoming events at the 525 Building, TMOC, Apache PD, and the Tempe History Museum.
September Job Fair: The City of Tempe and Maricopa County are holding more job fairs in September. If a friend or family member is looking for work these should be a good opportunities to connect with employers. Some details are below and more are in the attached flyers.
· Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025 10 AM- 1 PM at the City of Tempe EnVision Center (1310 E. Apache Blvd. Tempe, AZ 85281)
· Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025 at 11 AM- 2 PM at Arizona Mills Food Court (5000 S Arizona Mills Circle Tempe, AZ 85282)
September Member Meeting: Our next member meeting will be at the Tempe Fire Station 1 (1420 E Apache) on Thursday, September 18th, from 12-1PM. You can rsvp here until Thursday, September 11th, at 5PM. Please remember that we now need rsvps 1 week in advance to give people union business time for our meetings.
Ice Cream Socials: We had three ice cream events last week and one scheduled this coming week. This week is a bit of a lull due to room availability - we have 3 scheduled again for the following week. I’ve attached the list again for reference.
12pm on Wednesday, September 3rd, at Fire Station 1 EOC.
If you don’t see your work area represented on this list please feel free to reach out - even if we don’t schedule a formal event we’re more than happy to drop off some treats in your breakroom freezer.
Employee of the Quarter: Final reminder - our next round of Employee of the Quarter closes on September 1st (finalists will be announced in our October newsletter). If you would like to be considered (or would like to nominate a peer), please fill out the application (it takes 5 minutes) before the end of day on September 1st. If you would like a refresher on program rules, check out this blog post.
Thanks for a great week, everyone!