As we enter the 2008 election cycle, you'll be hearing the right wing slamming progressives for supporting labor unions. You'll hear them bandy about terms like "extremist," or "out of the mainstream." But history has shown that the right wing doesn't care much about...well...history.
Colorado has a long, rich history where labor unions are concerned, going back well before the 1894 miner's strike at Cripple Creek, where the strikers were supported by Populist Governor Davis H. "Old Bloody Bridles" Waite. Strikers fought for (and won) an eight hour work day.
Artifacts of Colorado's long history with labor can be found around the state, such as the monument memorializing the Ludlow Massacre in Las Animas County. Closer to my home, I stumbled across this memorial at Denver's Riverside Cemetery a couple of weeks ago:
More after the jump...
The Denver Typographical Union has its roots in the oldest union of the United States, the International Typographical Union, founded in 1852. The memorial is to Frank C. Birdsall, the union's Secretary-Treasurer from 1891 to 1926. The union lives on as part of the Communications Workers of America, and represents about 85 workers at the Denver Newspaper Agency, according to the Denver Newspaper Guild.
So when you hear the spin that unions and labor organizations are basically an alien concept in Colorado, and are some sort of rust-belt holdover, remember Colorado's history. The right wing likes to style itself as supporting a "back to basics" approach with "traditional values," but in my estimation they just haven't studied history enough to know what traditional values are.
Next time you hear prominent right-wing figures refer to the very modest union bill that our Governor vetoed as Democratic "excess," remind yourself that labor is just trying to regain a tiny little bit of ground lost in the past 40 years of Republican legislative support for corporate interests.
And next time you hear prominent right-wing pundits claim that the left is "in bed with labor," remember that out of Populism grew many of the core principles of the modern Democratic Party--things we take for granted today such as collective bargaining, the eight hour work day, the progressive income tax, direct election of Senators (the 17th Amendment), racial integration, and women's right to vote. For 110 years of American history, labor unions and the Democratic Party have gone together like cookies and milk--so wear the mantle proudly.
And remember that the wild west roots of our state are forever entangled with those of organized labor and progressive thought. Women first gained the right to vote here in the west--first in Wyoming and then in Utah in 1869, 50 years before the 19th Amendment was proposed. And remember that here, as much as in Pittsburgh and Chicago, regular citizens organized, fought, and died; as a result, we have silly things like evenings to spend with our families, and weekends where we can rest, recoup, wash the car, and mow the lawn. Don't let the right wing erase that part of our common heritage.
Originally posted at Progress Now.