Tag Archive for Labor Day

| September 2, 2024
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Labor Day 2024: Honoring Technology Workers

Labor Day 2024: Honoring Technology WorkersIn addition to honoring blue-collar workers, Labor Day also recognizes the vital role of technology workers. Traditionally associated with blue-collar labor, this day also acknowledges the essential role of technology workers who drive innovation and progress in our modern world. This year let’s shine a light on the growing unionization movement within the tech sector.

The Evolution of Labor Day

Labor Day originated in the late 19th century, during the height of the industrial age. At that time, labor unions fought for fair wages, reasonable working hours, and safer working conditions. Today, the labor landscape has evolved significantly, with technology workers at the forefront of this transformation.

The role of technology workers

The role of technology workers is multifaceted. Technology workers include developers, IT specialists, data scientists, and cybersecurity experts. These professionals drive modern innovations, ensuring smooth system operations, secure data, and continuous technological advancements.

Innovation and Progress: Tech workers drive many modern innovations we take for granted today. From developing cutting-edge software to creating sophisticated algorithms, their work has revolutionized industries such as healthcare, finance, and entertainment.

Adapting to Change: In the face of rapid technological evolution, tech workers must continually acquire new skills. This relentless pace necessitates a dedication to lifelong learning and a zeal for staying at the forefront of change. There is a growing trend of technology workers resorting to unionization to meet these challenges.

Remote Work and Flexibility: COVID-19 sped up remote work. As a result, tech workers adapted quickly. Their ability to work from anywhere has set a precedent for other industries, highlighting the importance of flexibility in the modern workplace.

Tech workers face a variety of challenges in today’s rapidly evolving industry. Some of the key issues they encounter include…

  1. Overwork is caused by talent shortages in high-skill jobs.
  2. Time-consuming and demanding continuous learning and development to maintain their jobs.
  3. New challenges from the shift to remote work in maintaining productivity, collaboration, and work-life balance.

The rise of Labor Day in the tech sector

However, despite their significant contributions, technology workers face unique challenges. Unionization is becoming an increasingly important tool for addressing these issues.

Burnout and Work-Life Balance: Tech jobs can be demanding, leading to burnout. Unions can help by advocating for better conditions. Long hours, tight deadlines, and the pressure to constantly innovate can also damage mental and physical health. Unions can advocate for better working conditions, reasonable hours, and mental health support.

Diversity and Inclusion: The tech industry has made strides in promoting diversity and inclusion, but work still needs to be done. Unions can be crucial in ensuring that technology workers from diverse backgrounds have equal opportunities and are treated fairly.

Job Security and Automation: As technology advances, there is a growing concern about job security. Automation and artificial intelligence have the potential to replace certain roles, making it essential for technology workers to continuously upskill and stay relevant in the job market. Unions can help negotiate retraining programs and job security measures.

Notable unionization efforts

Tech workers are increasingly unionizing. For instance, workers at companies like Google, Kickstarter, and Glitch have formed unions. These efforts are often met with resistance from management, but they represent a critical shift in the industry.

Alphabet Workers Union: In 2021, Google employees formed the Alphabet Workers Union, which aims to address issues such as pay disparity, harassment, and ethical concerns.
Kickstarter Union: Kickstarter employees successfully unionized in 2020, becoming one of the first tech companies to do so. Their union focuses on issues like job security, diversity, and fair wages.
Glitch Union: Software engineers at Glitch made history by signing a collective bargaining agreement, highlighting the growing unionization trend among tech workers.

The future of tech on Labor Day

Looking ahead, the role of technology workers will only become more critical. Emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology will require skilled professionals to navigate complex challenges and drive progress.

Sustainable Technology: Tech workers will help develop sustainable solutions for climate change. Their work will be instrumental in building a greener future, from creating energy-efficient systems to advancing renewable energy technologies.

Ethical Considerations: With great power comes great responsibility. Technology workers must consider the ethical implications of their work, ensuring that advancements are used for the greater good and do not perpetuate harm or inequality.

Global Collaboration: The tech industry is inherently global, with professionals collaborating across borders to solve complex problems. This interconnectedness fosters a spirit of cooperation and innovation, driving progress on a global scale.

Conclusion

Therefore, as we celebrate Labor Day, it’s important to recognize the contributions of technology workers and support their efforts to unionize. As we celebrate Labor Day, it’s important to recognize the invaluable contributions of technology workers and the growing movement of unionization within the tech sector. Their dedication, innovation, and resilience have shaped the modern world and will continue to drive progress in the years to come. Let’s honor their efforts and support them in overcoming the challenges they face, ensuring a brighter future for all.

Happy Labor Day to all the technology workers out there! Your hard work and ingenuity are truly appreciated.

 

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Ralph Bach has been in IT for a while and has blogged from the Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that has caught my attention since 2005. You can follow me on Facebook or Mastodon. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,
| September 4, 2021
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Labor Day 2021

This labor day, the United States has the highest COVID-19 death toll of any country. 

labor day

Get the vaccination!

 

Stay safe out there!

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Holidays | Tags: , ,
| September 7, 2020
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Labor Day 2020

Labor Day 2020It is Labor Day in the U.S. In the past, Labor Day was a celebration of working men and women. On Labor Day 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic havoc, the percentage of people actually employed in the U.S. has recently hit an all-time low.

COVID-19 virrusIn August 2020 (the last full set of data) the BLS says the employment-population ratio stood at 56.5%. For comparison, the rate stood at 59.8% in December 2016, before Trumpie and his fellow travelers started their reign. That means that 45.4% of the civilian noninstitutional population – did NOT have a job. 

This number is an improvement from the historically low 51.6% we saw in April 2020 – there are still over 7 million people not working.

Statista Employment Population ratio
24/7 Wall St. reviewed unemployment at the metropolitan area level for USA Today to identify the cities with the worst unemployment problem. It is not a big surprise that Michigan has been hard hit. They ranked 4 Michigan metro areas in their list of areas most impacted by the COVID-19 layoffs.

Battle CreekFlintDetroit metroMuskegon
Impact33211211
Unemployment rate15.1%16.6%17.7%17.8%
YTD change-8.7%-8.2%-19.0%-8.0%
COVID cases69981311,83629
Poverty rate18%18.8%14.3%15.8%

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Middle class squeezed

Real unemployment at the height of the 2020 recession (so far) has reached levels not seen since the Great Depression. In April 2020, the real unemployment rate, including discouraged, marginally attached, and part-time, was 22.8%. The unemployment rate during the Great Depression surpassed 25% from March 1933 to June 1933. 

In case you’re wondering, the civilian noninstitutional population comprises of all persons aged 16 and older who reside in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, are not inmates of institutions (e.g., penal and mental facilities, homes for the aged), and who are not on active duty in the Armed Forces.
 

Are you better off this year than last year?

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Stay safe out there!

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,
| September 1, 2019
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Are You Middle Class This Labor Day

Are You Middle Class This Labor Day

It is Labor Day in the U.S. Organized labor created the U.S. middle class. Now the middle class is being squeezed out of existence. Considerable reports that the Pew Research Center has concluded that 52% of Americans qualify as middle class. 29% in lower-income households and 19% in upper-income households.

Middle class squeezeThe researchers found that today, roughly half of American households fall into the middle class, over time the middle class has been shrinking. In 1971, 61% of adults lived in middle-class households. During this time both upper and lower-income segments of the population have been growing at the expense of the middle class. Plus, the upper class has seen bigger income gains, widening the income gap.

Pew found that the highest concentrations of middle-class Americans reside in the Midwest and Northeast. Sheboygan, WI has the largest percentage of middle-class adults in the U.S., others are:

  1. Sheboygan, WI – 65.2%
  2. Elkhart-Goshen, IN – 64.4%
  3. East Stroudsburg, PA – 63.7%
  4. Ogden-Clearfield, UT – 63.1%

The areas with the highest concentration of upper-class households should not surprise anyone.

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA – 31.6%
  2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV – 30.6%
  3. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA – 30.4%
  4. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT – 30.2%

The national average middle-class household income is $78,442 according to the Pew data. The Michigan middle-class benchmark is just over $79,000 and is placed in the middle at the 27th place nationally, between New Mexico and Maine. The Michigan middle-class household earns on average $600 more than the national average.

As for metro regions, the highest income to be middle class in the U.S. belongs to:

  1. Iowa City, IA  $90,158
  2. Auburn-Opelika, AL $87,363
  3. Monroe, MI $87,330
  4. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV  $86,645

Being middle class requires the least income in:

  1. El Centro, CA $69,338
  2. Merced, CA $71,319
  3. Lewiston-Auburn, ME $71,612
  4. Coeur d’Alene, ID $71,726

The Pew data says that in order to be middle class in Michigan the major metro-areas a household needs to have the following incomes.

  1. Muskegon, MI $76,699
  2. Saginaw, MI $77,731
  3. Lansing-East Lansing, MI $79,522
  4. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI $80,159
  5. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI $80,166
  6. Niles-Benton Harbor, MI $80,302
  7. Ann Arbor, MI $80,907
  8. Kalamazoo-Portage, MI $81,003
  9. Jackson, MI $81,710
  10. Monroe, MI $87,330

In the table below, you’ll find the median incomes for each U.S. state for a three-person middle-class household, adjusted for the cost of living in the states. The amounts vary because Pew adjusts the data to reflect the cost of living around the country. Keep in mind the this is based on 2016 income, but since inflation has been modest in recent years the exact number probably won’t have changed much.

 

How much income it takes to be middle class

RankStateIncome
1District of Columbia$88,579
2Rhode Island$84,413
3Maryland$84,372
4Alaska$84,015
5Massachusetts$83,923
6North Dakota$83,494
7Connecticut$82,747
8Minnesota$82,173
9New Jersey$81,950
10South Dakota$81,334
11Virginia$81,309
12Colorado$81,234
13Iowa$81,167
14Wisconsin$81,053
15Illinois$81,010
16New Hampshire$80,656
17Washington$80,615
18Wyoming$80,217
19Hawaii$80,168
20Ohio$80,033
21Delaware$79,959
22Pennsylvania$79,717
23Nebraska$79,549
24Kentucky$79,216
25Missouri$79,189
26Maine$79,060
27Michigan$79,042
28New Mexico$79,012
29Kansas$78,971
30Georgia$78,961
31Vermont$78,877
32Texas$78,866
33Montana$78,854
34Alabama$78,624
35North Carolina$78,624
36Oregon$78,550
37Nevada$78,461
38New York$78,412
39South Carolina$78,016
40Indiana$77,941
41California$77,806
42Oklahoma$77,658
43Utah$77,575
44Tennessee$77,495
45Louisiana$77,351
46Arizona$76,860
47Idaho$76,849
48Mississippi$76,666
49West Virginia$76,629
50Arkansas$76,569
51Florida$75,414
In 2016 dollars, reflects three-person household, and adjusted for cost of living in the states. Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 2016 American Community Survey (IPUMS)

 

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Holidays | Tags: , , ,
| August 31, 2018
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Labor Day 2018

Southeast Michigan is, in many ways, the birthplace of the American Middle Class. Labor Day is here again the celebrate the working man’s contribution to America. But in 2018 the working class is under siege. One way to celebrate labors’ contribution is to look at the artifacts of the last time the economy was so out of whack.

Detroit Industry

One magnificent artifact is “Detroit Industry” at the Detroit Institute of Arts. “Detroit Industry” is a four-wall mural created by Diego Rivera in 1932-1933. The murals depict the history of Detroit and the development of industry.

"Detroit Industry" by Diego Rivera. 1932-1933

The DIA commissioned Detroit Industry, with backing from DIA patron Edsel Ford. The only request was that the murals address the history of Detroit and the development of industry.

Diego Rivera

Rivera and his spouse Frida Kahlo arrived in Detroit in 1932 during the depths of the “Great Depression.”  He completed the fresco in 1933. The images show Rivera’s take on big-time American capitalism. They simultaneously glorify the culture of the modern factory as well as slyly savaging the men in charge.

This panel, from the north wall. “Production and Manufacture of Engine and Transmission,” is based on Rivera’s observations of the 1932 Ford V-8 being produced at Ford Motor Company‘s (F) River Rouge factory. Rivera’s work represented a multiracial workforce was an important aspect of his idealism.

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The 1% and their wanna-be fellow travelers have out-organized the working class to pick a president to further tip the scales in their favor.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Holidays | Tags: , , , , , , ,
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