"A Labor of Love"

In keeping with Labor Day, I decided to snap a photo of a job site in Bend, Oregon as a tribute to the founder of the American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers and include this 1950 plate block from my stamp collection.

Samuel Gompers immigrated to the U.S. from England as a boy in 1863 and became a citizen in 1872. At a time when workers had low, daily changing wages, labored under terrible conditions and toiled for long hours, Gompers believed that each employee deserved an "American" standard of living, which guaranteed a safe environment and enough money for food, clothing and education for the families' children. This could be achieved by economic organization and workers voting for politicians who understood their needs. He developed the still current procedure of collective bargaining to establish contracts between management and labor. In 1882, he founded the American Federation of Labor, the AFof L, and was its president until his death in 1924. He staunchly supported women's suffrage and equal wages with men. He also affirmed the rights of negros to participate fully vested in the work force. During World War I, Gompers support of Woodrow Wilson assured the uninterrupted production of war materiels, and, at the end, attended the Peace of Paris in 1919 as an advisor on labor issues.

Certainly the industrial age has practically disappeared. The new era, dominated by technology, has engendered a new relationship between employer and employee with rights and rules mandated and overseen by the states and the federal government. Yet the imprint of Samuel Gomper's hard fought gains are unmistakeable in the workplace. Today, on Labor Day, his legacy deserves to be recalled.