August 29, 2025 • 30 mins
This episode explores the history and meaning behind Labor Day with historian Kenneth C. Davis, author of the “Don’t Know Much” series. Plus, we recognize National Suicide Prevention Month with Bob Gebbia, CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in an important conversation about raising awareness and taking action on mental health.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues in facting you this week.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Here's many Munyos and welcome to another edition of Iheartradios Communities.
As you heard, I am Manny Munyo's and I would
love a follow from you on Instagram at iod Manny
is my handle at iod m a n n Y.
Labor Day weekend is upon us, and for most of
(00:30):
us that means a day at the beach or a barbecue,
the traditional end of summer, and for many the start
of a new school year. But why do we celebrate
Labor Day? Let's get some answers from historian Tennessee Davis.
He's the author of the Don't Know Much series of books.
His most recent is titled The World in Books fifty
two Works of great short nonfiction, and you can follow
(00:54):
him on his website don't Know Much dot com. Ken
always appreciate the time, thank.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
You for joining us, and it's always a pleasure to
join you Manny, And like many people, I'm working on
Labor Day weekend, but talking to people like you about
the history behind the holiday is part of my job,
and it's a labor of love.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, let's start off with that. How did labor Day
begin as a holiday? Where did it come from? Who
pushed for it?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Well, it's really kind of ironic. It came from the
president at the time. This is the first federal labor Day.
Happened in eighteen ninety four, signed into law by Grover Cleveland.
And it was not that he was such a big
fan of organized labor. In fact, he had a few
years before sent out federal troops to put down a
(01:44):
strike by the Pullman workers, probably the largest company in
America at the time they made railroad cars. So this
was not a man who was eager to help plight
the working people, but he was. I thought it was
a kind of a good bone to toss to organize
labor as it was becoming more powerful. Give them a
(02:07):
holiday and maybe it would help win a few votes.
It didn't work. He lost the next election anyway. But
the bigger point is here that most of us don't
realize what labor meant. In the late nineteenth century, after
the Civil War, the rise of industrial America, it was
(02:29):
difficult to be a worker in America. It meant six
day weeks and twelve hour days. There were no unemployment insurance,
there was no health insurance, there were no paid vacations.
All of the things that we come to accept as
part of being a working person just didn't exist. And
(02:51):
unions were trying to organize for the first time in
American history in the aftermath of the Civil War, to
win those basic rights, including decent wages. Of course, and
they had very very little power. They only had the
power to actually organize and go on strike, and that
was usually met by the full force of both big
(03:13):
business and the federal government and state government on its side.
One of the most important issues also for working people
at that time was to bring about an end to
child labor. Child labor, I mean children eight and nine
years old were working in the fields and the factories,
in the mines. They were often assigned to do the
(03:35):
most dangerous and dirty work. So it work in labor,
I should say, in the late nineteenth century, was no picnic.
While we're having our picnic this weekend, fair.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
To say that we wouldn't have a Labor Day that
we celebrate each year if not for the growth and
increase power of labor unions.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Absolutely, the unions were growing in number and growing in
number means they were also growing in political power, so
that eventually became a big issue that was became part
of the American political scene. And certainly in the late
(04:21):
nineteenth century, unions sort of were more inclined to vote democratic,
especially in big cities, so that sort of became part
of the big city machines. Republicans were a little bit
more business friendly, and we're not eager to see unions thrive.
(04:44):
But it was a long, hard struggle, and I have
to say it was also a very violent struggle. In
the late nineteenth century. Many of the strikes were met
by organized opposition, armed opposition in strike breakers that were
and they would be protected by armed guards, and eventually
(05:07):
they would also be protected by and strikes would be
broken by federal troops being sent in. So many, many
hundreds of working people died in the late nineteenth century
in some of these very violent strikes and battles Haymarket
Square in Chicago, the Homestead Steel Plant in Pittsburgh. These
(05:34):
were really really pitched battles. It was a sort of
another American Civil War as Americans sought each other, and
certainly strike breakers were brought in to fend off the
unions so when we think of things like the five
day work week, although that's disappearing, especially in the ear
(05:55):
of remote work, you know, the five day were week,
the eight hour day, compensation, unemployment insurance, of course social security.
This was a time when there were no pensions. People
could work their lives and have nothing when it was done,
and no guarantee of anything until the nineteen thirties and
(06:19):
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Fair Labor Act changed the
whole face of labor in America. That was also the
end on the federal labor level of child labor. Many
states had enacted laws against children working, but it wasn't
until nineteen thirty eight, not that long ago in our history,
(06:42):
that child labor became illegal on the federal level.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
So Labor Day initially wasn't meant as we viewed now,
a celebration of the workers who helped build our country.
As you mentioned, it was like a bone to throw
as a political compromise to calm down on rest.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, that's absolutely true about the first ceteral labor Day.
But if we go back in time, the first known
celebration of a labor day took place in New York City,
I'm speaking to you from New York City, where unions
organized unions marched to Union Square in the center of
what is now Greenwich Village in New York City, and
(07:22):
they actually was a sort of a picnic day, and
the idea was to celebrate the strength and spirit of
the American worker. That's what they said at the time.
But they were also clearly organizing for the things we're
talking about, decent wages, an eight hour work day, the
right to organize into unions, which was not protected until
(07:44):
much later, and as I mentioned, the end of the
end of child labor. And by all accounts, the first
Labor Day was a peaceful affair that drew tens of
thousands of workers and their families to the city'sion in
Square Park, which is, as I said, kind of writing
us hard of downtown New York and what is now
(08:07):
Greenwich Village.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
A few more minutes with historian Kenneth cy Davis. He's
the author of the Don't Know Much series of books.
His most recent is The World in Books, fifty two
works of great short nonfiction. His website is don't Know
Much dot com. What is the difference between Labor Day
and I guess what's known is Mayday or International Workers Day.
(08:31):
Why why do we celebrate it differently here in the
United States.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
That's an interesting and good question because in most countries,
certainly most European countries, labor is celebrated on May Day,
and May Day was a commemoration of one of the
violent strikes that took place in Chicago called Haymarket Square,
(08:55):
where some policemen were actually killed, and union leaders were
blamed for the death of the policemen and they were
actually executed unjustly later proved, and that was in May
of eighteen eighty four, and a lot of the other
countries in Europe decided they were going to honor workers
(09:18):
by making May Day a holiday to celebrate labor, and
certainly it became a big day in communists and socialist
countries later on, and still is in many communist countries.
In America, they did not want to relate a Labor
(09:39):
Day to that incident, so they moved it to the
first Monday in September, which kind of falls halfway between
the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, the only two other
holidays most people had at that time federal holidays at least,
so it was it was a compromise that was to
(10:00):
the celebration of labor away from the memory of the
Haymarket Square riots in eighteen eighty four.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I'm gonna go a little bit off script here because
I know you are not necessarily a fashion person, but
you are a fashion icon with a very thin glasses
and the neatly trimmed beard. The idea about not wearing
white after labor day, any idea where that came from.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Yeah, that's an old tradition that you wore white. I mean,
most this was more of a business tradition than working
class people's tradition. Working class people wore overalls and denim
for the most part, but the working classes what we
call the white shoe law firms, and they kind of
(10:49):
took most of the summer off because it was hot
and there was no air conditioning, and you wore white
because it was cooler. And then the fashion statements that basically, well,
once you come back to work after labor day, you've
taken the whole the summer off, you go back to
wearing your office wear, which would be black or navy
(11:10):
blue or you know, typical office clothing. And so that
kind of became ensconced in the fashion as a rule
that you don't wear white after Labor Day. I think
that rule is long gone. I have to say, in
more than thirty years of speaking on the radio, no
one has referred to me as a fashion icon before.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
So well, anybody that's seen you for that, anybody that's
seen you knows that you are. And I should have known.
I couldn't stump you with a question after all of
those years of talking about all of these holidays and history,
what do you find are the biggest myths or the
biggest misconceptions about Labor Day.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Well, I think that most people think of it as just,
you know, as the end of summer, and they don't
associate it with why it came to be. And that's
why I do think it's important to talk about it,
especially at this moment in our history right now, when
you know, obviously things are historically speaking pretty good for
(12:07):
working people. We know the unemployment rate is kind of
sitting around a historic low. There's work. There are a
lot of work related issues that, however, that are very
very troubling in the country right now. The replacement of
a lot of jobs with artificial intelligence. It's coming and
(12:28):
people have to certainly be aware of it. In fact,
I was just reading a couple of weeks ago that
people who've been told for the last twenty years or
so to you know, get your computer coding college degree,
and that would be the key to it a great future.
(12:48):
Those people are now looking for jobs at you know,
TJ Max and being baristas because those computer coding jobs
are also starting to disappear. So we're at a you know,
work has always been complicated in America, and we've treated
in different different ways over history. In fact, back in
(13:09):
the eighteen sixties, a fellow named Abraham Lincoln said labor
is the superior of capital and deserves much the higher consideration.
Not many Republican presidents would would say such a thing.
He said, capital is only the fruit of labor and
could have never existed if labor had not first existed.
(13:32):
It kind of sounds like Karl Marx is talking about
Abraham Lincoln. So there's always been this conflict between business
and labor. They have different goals. Obviously, business exists to
make profits. Labor exists to organized Labor exists to make
the best deal possible for its workers. And I think,
(13:55):
you know, if you look at the history of our country,
especially in the post war era when much of the
country was unionized. Those union wages really helped create the
American middle class. And in the past fifty years or so,
certainly in this century and maybe going back a little
(14:16):
bit more, the powers of unions have been greatly diminished.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Well, it does seem like the power, the strength of
labor unions in our country. It's kind of cyclical. It
goes up and down and usually find some balance in
the middle. Kenneth, always appreciate your time the information. I
hope you enjoy a little picnic, a little barbecue, maybe
a Labor Day white sale, and we will talk again soon.
(14:40):
Be well.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Well, it is a sale weekend, that's for sure, Manny.
I've already been my computers, my emails filled with Labor
Day special But it's not about the It's not about
the sales. It's really about, as we said, the strength
and experience of American working people who did build this country.
Thanks a lot, Manny. Always a great pleasure to talk
(15:02):
to you and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
KENNEFC Davis, author of the Don't Know Much series of books,
could find out more about him in all of his books.
Don't Know Much dot Com just a reminder if you
have any questions or comments, you can follow me on
Instagram at iod Manny is my handle at iod m
a n Y. September is National Suicide Prevention Month. It
(15:28):
serves as a call to action to raise awareness of
our nation's serious mental health issues. Let's talk about that
and everything else having to do with it. Bobby is
CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Bob, I appreciate the time, Oh my pleasure, good to
be with you.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Talk to me about the significance of this month and
what you hope Americans take away from our conversation.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Well, first, suicide is a leading cause of death in
our country, and this is a moment in time and
calendar in September where we want people to become educated
about suicide, what to look for warning signs, how to
help someone who may be struggling, and just to become
more kind of, if you will, mental health literate and
(16:15):
to take care of our mental health and to make
sure those around us do the same. So it's a
good moment in the calendar to really focus on mental
health and specifically suicide prevention.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
It does seem like the even though there's still quite
a bit of stigma concerning mental health and someone asking
for help. We've really come a long way in terms
of addressing that, have we not as a country?
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Oh, yes we have, and it's so much better. I mean,
people are more open about talking about how they feel
emotionally right and reaching out and asking for help. And
there's no shame in that. Actually it's the opposite. We
see it as a courageous act. If someone's having a
hard time, you know, ask for help. There's great great inventions,
(17:01):
there's great treatments, and sometimes it's just a matter of
getting some support to get you through a hard time.
You know, if we had, you know, aches and pains
from something physical, we would ask go to the doctor,
we'd ask for help. Right. We want people to do
the same thing when they may be struggling with their
mental health. And we all go through periods in our
lives where you know, there may be things troubling us.
(17:22):
It's not it's not anything of weakness. It's actually a
sign of strength to be able to ask someone or
talk to someone you trust and say, look, I'm going
through this, it's okay. And you will get better. But
we cannot let people ignore it, because when they ignore it, it
can get worse. And the worst possible outcome, obviously, is
someone becomes so despondent, so hopeless, that they think about
(17:46):
taking their lives.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
All of the progress that we have made, we still
have a long way to go in terms of normalizing
the idea that it's okay to not only talk about
issues when you're when you're having some sort of mental
health crisis, but to ask for help.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
More importantly, absolutely, and we know so much more about
how to help these days, and talk therapies. There's wonderful
therapies that people can use. In some cases, people may
even need medication, and that's okay too. The thing is
stay focused on getting better and and you know you will.
And I think that's what we want to get out.
(18:26):
People can get better when they have our time.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Now.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
If someone's in crisis, you know by that, I mean
if someone is talking about hurting themselves or not wanting
to live, you know, becoming so hopeless, you know, maybe
abusing drugs and alcohol and just becoming you know, not themselves.
And we know when people aren't theirselves, that's when you
(18:50):
really need to take it very seriously and talk to them.
And it's okay to ask them. You know, years ago
people were afraid to ask, you know, are you're thinking
about suicide because they thought they'd put the idea in
some model. That's not the case, that's a myth. And
it's okay to ask, and people often open up and
then you can get them to help. But it's really
(19:10):
important if you see someone struggling and it's getting worse,
it's not getting petter, they're not themselves and withdrawing and
maybe even talking about not wanting to live, it's really
important to get them professional help. And there's also a
great crisis line for those who may be struggling and
really in crisis. It's nine eight eight. If you dial
(19:30):
nine eight eight, you will be connected to a counselor
who can help. So that's an important thing for listeners
to know. There's a great nationwide hotline number nine eight eight.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
All of the great work that you're doing at the
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I imagine one of your
primary goals is education. I have a feeling most people
in our country, most of our listening audience, don't even
realize that we have that National Suicide and Crisis Prevention
Hotline of nine to eight eight. How long has that
(20:05):
been around and do you find that people aren't even
aware of it.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Yeah, it's only around for about three years, and it
was a great, great move to really have a dedicated
line where anyone around the country can talk to a
trained counselor and share what they're going through. And ninety
nine percent of the crises can be resolved just by
calling the line and talking with someone and obviously if
(20:31):
it's worse then to get them into getting professional help.
But you know, it's only been around three years and
it's fairly new, and you're right, we still find there
are people who don't know about it. So and there's
also a lot of other resources about getting educated about
mental health, getting educated about suicide prevention, what you can do,
(20:53):
how to get involved, and all that is on our website.
It's AFSP dot org and there's great sources there, and
there's also resources for those who've lost a loved one.
You know, it's a terrible experience, devastating to family and
friends and workplaces and you know, classmates and so many
(21:14):
people are affected when tragically someone dies by suicide. So
there's also resources for those who've had that loss, and
all that is on the AFSP dot org website.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
What are the statistics tell us are we doing a
good job as a country addressing these issues? Are we
seeing a decline in the number of suicides in the
United States?
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Well, we've seen some up and down, and you know,
for about two decades, the suicide rate was inching up,
not going up dramatically, but going up slightly every year
for twenty years. And what we saw right before COVID
is its first decrease, a slight decrease really in twenty
(21:58):
years that lasted for two years, and unfortunately, coming out
of COVID it bounced back a bit. And that was
not surprising too, because we know during COVID there was isolation,
there was loss, there were financial problems, more use of
drugs and alcohol, things like that that we knew could
affect suicide rates. So we did see it bounce back.
(22:21):
I'm happy to say the data for twenty twenty three
shows a leveling off and a slight decrease again, and
preliminary data it's not final yet for twenty twenty four
continues to show a slight decrease, so we're hopeful that
we're on the right track. But obviously any life, one
life is too many. We want to see suicide be eradicated.
(22:43):
If you will, No one should die by suicide. There
is help and hope available.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
A couple more minutes here with Bob Gebbia, CEO of
the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Their website is AFSP
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention dot org AFSP dot org.
Social media, I imagine could be beneficial in helping combat
(23:08):
mental health issues and suicide prevention could also contribute to it.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Yeah, it's true, and you know, there's a lot of
good things you can find resources. For instance, people can
be supportive of each other through social media and not
feel as isolated because of their network and so on.
And the companies have done a pretty good job in
terms of making sure through their algorithms that if someone's
talking about suicide, resources will pop up. And so there's
(23:36):
been some real positives. Obviously, it can be used negatively
by some folks to bully others. That's a negative. And
also obviously we do know too much screen time can
can be bad for young people, especially, so you know,
I think everyone's starting to realize social media is a
wonderful thing and we're going to use it. It's here,
(23:58):
but how we use it matters, and we can use
it in positive ways, and it can have some negative
impacts too, so we have to minimize.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Those screening mental health screening in schools and by primary
care physicians. Do you think there's a lack of preparation,
a lack of training in those two areas to spot problems.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
That's a great comment. We support universal screening. We think
it's an important thing to do. Not every place is
doing it. We know that that's one of our advocacy
pushes to make sure people are screened and then have
the follow up if they screen high. But our society
is not embraced it fully. The medical profession hasn't embraced
(24:41):
it fully, and we continue to push, you know, in
healthcare settings that people get screened, and you know we
screen from many things, right, and this would be an
important thing. Mental health screening is really important and there
are questions in there often about ah, you think you're
hurting yourself and obviously if somebody says yes, then suicide
(25:02):
prevention needs to be implemented. And our medical profession isn't
always prepared. You're absolutely right. A lot more training, a
lot more follow up, a lot more use of effective treatments,
and these are all things we are pushing for at
AFSP to make sure our healthcare system really supports saving
(25:23):
lives and preventing suicide.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
We talked about how there are no cultural, socioeconomic barriers
to prevent someone from mental health issues or suicide. There
are groups that are higher at risk, veterans, law enforcement,
LGBTQ kids, things like that, and there is no one
size fits all solution to address these issues.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
That is so true. You're spot on, and there are
groups that carry higher risk and we need to be
focused on them. Obviously, it affects everybody, so we don't
want to eliminate any any prevention among any groups, but
there are groups that need extra support, and you're right.
LGBTQ youth show higher higher rates and risk for suicide
(26:12):
as well as our veterans, and that's certainly been well documented.
And working to get make sure that those in those
risk categories are connected to care, have available resources and
treatment if needed, and that's sometimes a barrier, you know,
finding care, finding affordable care. These are all things that
(26:34):
we have to do better with. And again it's we've
tried to work with our federal and state legislators and
administrations to try to ensure that there are resources for
those at high risk, and that's really important. You know.
The other thing is for all groups reach out. You know,
if a young person struggling, LGBTQ, young person, straight, young person,
(26:59):
doesn't matter. If you're having a hard time, talk to
someone and you can get better. It can get better,
and I think there's hope and we need to make
sure people understand that and there's resources. But there are
groups that need extra help. You're absolutely right, and they're
in these high risk categories.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I know the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention does run
events to bring attention to the issue. Tell me about
some of that.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Yes, So we are kicking off or out of the
darkness community walks. There are walks for suicide prevention. We
have post a four hundred of them all over the
country every state, many many communities participate and those walks
are really important. They kick off in September, but they
(27:47):
run through the fall Out of the darkness community walks.
You can find a walk near you by going to
afsp dot org slash walk and find a walk near you.
It's easy to find one. And why are they important
people come out for the cause. You know, there are
people who lost the loved one, there are people who
have someone who struggles, they themselves may struggle, and to
(28:11):
come to a walk for suicide prevention, it's so supportive.
You're with people who get it, who understand it helps
to reduce that sometimes feeling of loneliness and isolation. So
there's that sense of community by coming out, but you're
also raising awareness for the public, and you're also helping
to raise funds that we can then use to invest
in research and programs and advocacy so that we can
(28:35):
really prevent this tragic cause of death. So out of
the Darkness walks. We'll have about two hundred fifty to
three hundred thousand people walking all over the country this fall,
and then there's hundreds of millions and more who support walkers,
and certainly many many volunteers that help us put on
these events. But you can find a walk near you
(28:57):
at FSP dot org slash Walk.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
AFS dot org is the website. Afsp dot org. Slash
walk is where you can find out more about the
Out of the Darkness walks, and of course the National
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline nine eight eight. It is available
twenty four to seven. It is free and completely confidential.
(29:19):
Just dial nine eight eight. Bob Gebby, CEO of the
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Thank you for everything you're doing,
best of luck. Thank you so much for the time
and the information. Be well.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Thank you so much, Bye bye.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
As always, I'd love a follow on Instagram and I
follow back at IOD Manny is my handle at IOD
M A n n Y. And that'll do it for
another edition of Iheartradios Communities. I'm Manny Muno's until next time.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues in facting you this week.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Here's many Munyos and welcome to another edition of Iheartradios Communities.
As you heard, I am Manny Munyo's and I would
love a follow from you on Instagram at iod Manny
is my handle at iod m a n n Y.
Labor Day weekend is upon us, and for most of
(00:30):
us that means a day at the beach or a barbecue,
the traditional end of summer, and for many the start
of a new school year. But why do we celebrate
Labor Day? Let's get some answers from historian Tennessee Davis.
He's the author of the Don't Know Much series of books.
His most recent is titled The World in Books fifty
two Works of great short nonfiction, and you can follow
(00:54):
him on his website don't Know Much dot com. Ken
always appreciate the time, thank.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
You for joining us, and it's always a pleasure to
join you Manny, And like many people, I'm working on
Labor Day weekend, but talking to people like you about
the history behind the holiday is part of my job,
and it's a labor of love.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, let's start off with that. How did labor Day
begin as a holiday? Where did it come from? Who
pushed for it?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Well, it's really kind of ironic. It came from the
president at the time. This is the first federal labor Day.
Happened in eighteen ninety four, signed into law by Grover Cleveland.
And it was not that he was such a big
fan of organized labor. In fact, he had a few
years before sent out federal troops to put down a
(01:44):
strike by the Pullman workers, probably the largest company in
America at the time they made railroad cars. So this
was not a man who was eager to help plight
the working people, but he was. I thought it was
a kind of a good bone to toss to organize
labor as it was becoming more powerful. Give them a
(02:07):
holiday and maybe it would help win a few votes.
It didn't work. He lost the next election anyway. But
the bigger point is here that most of us don't
realize what labor meant. In the late nineteenth century, after
the Civil War, the rise of industrial America, it was
(02:29):
difficult to be a worker in America. It meant six
day weeks and twelve hour days. There were no unemployment insurance,
there was no health insurance, there were no paid vacations.
All of the things that we come to accept as
part of being a working person just didn't exist. And
(02:51):
unions were trying to organize for the first time in
American history in the aftermath of the Civil War, to
win those basic rights, including decent wages. Of course, and
they had very very little power. They only had the
power to actually organize and go on strike, and that
was usually met by the full force of both big
(03:13):
business and the federal government and state government on its side.
One of the most important issues also for working people
at that time was to bring about an end to
child labor. Child labor, I mean children eight and nine
years old were working in the fields and the factories,
in the mines. They were often assigned to do the
(03:35):
most dangerous and dirty work. So it work in labor,
I should say, in the late nineteenth century, was no picnic.
While we're having our picnic this weekend, fair.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
To say that we wouldn't have a Labor Day that
we celebrate each year if not for the growth and
increase power of labor unions.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Absolutely, the unions were growing in number and growing in
number means they were also growing in political power, so
that eventually became a big issue that was became part
of the American political scene. And certainly in the late
(04:21):
nineteenth century, unions sort of were more inclined to vote democratic,
especially in big cities, so that sort of became part
of the big city machines. Republicans were a little bit
more business friendly, and we're not eager to see unions thrive.
(04:44):
But it was a long, hard struggle, and I have
to say it was also a very violent struggle. In
the late nineteenth century. Many of the strikes were met
by organized opposition, armed opposition in strike breakers that were
and they would be protected by armed guards, and eventually
(05:07):
they would also be protected by and strikes would be
broken by federal troops being sent in. So many, many
hundreds of working people died in the late nineteenth century
in some of these very violent strikes and battles Haymarket
Square in Chicago, the Homestead Steel Plant in Pittsburgh. These
(05:34):
were really really pitched battles. It was a sort of
another American Civil War as Americans sought each other, and
certainly strike breakers were brought in to fend off the
unions so when we think of things like the five
day work week, although that's disappearing, especially in the ear
(05:55):
of remote work, you know, the five day were week,
the eight hour day, compensation, unemployment insurance, of course social security.
This was a time when there were no pensions. People
could work their lives and have nothing when it was done,
and no guarantee of anything until the nineteen thirties and
(06:19):
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Fair Labor Act changed the
whole face of labor in America. That was also the
end on the federal labor level of child labor. Many
states had enacted laws against children working, but it wasn't
until nineteen thirty eight, not that long ago in our history,
(06:42):
that child labor became illegal on the federal level.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
So Labor Day initially wasn't meant as we viewed now,
a celebration of the workers who helped build our country.
As you mentioned, it was like a bone to throw
as a political compromise to calm down on rest.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, that's absolutely true about the first ceteral labor Day.
But if we go back in time, the first known
celebration of a labor day took place in New York City,
I'm speaking to you from New York City, where unions
organized unions marched to Union Square in the center of
what is now Greenwich Village in New York City, and
(07:22):
they actually was a sort of a picnic day, and
the idea was to celebrate the strength and spirit of
the American worker. That's what they said at the time.
But they were also clearly organizing for the things we're
talking about, decent wages, an eight hour work day, the
right to organize into unions, which was not protected until
(07:44):
much later, and as I mentioned, the end of the
end of child labor. And by all accounts, the first
Labor Day was a peaceful affair that drew tens of
thousands of workers and their families to the city'sion in
Square Park, which is, as I said, kind of writing
us hard of downtown New York and what is now
(08:07):
Greenwich Village.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
A few more minutes with historian Kenneth cy Davis. He's
the author of the Don't Know Much series of books.
His most recent is The World in Books, fifty two
works of great short nonfiction. His website is don't Know
Much dot com. What is the difference between Labor Day
and I guess what's known is Mayday or International Workers Day.
(08:31):
Why why do we celebrate it differently here in the
United States.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
That's an interesting and good question because in most countries,
certainly most European countries, labor is celebrated on May Day,
and May Day was a commemoration of one of the
violent strikes that took place in Chicago called Haymarket Square,
(08:55):
where some policemen were actually killed, and union leaders were
blamed for the death of the policemen and they were
actually executed unjustly later proved, and that was in May
of eighteen eighty four, and a lot of the other
countries in Europe decided they were going to honor workers
(09:18):
by making May Day a holiday to celebrate labor, and
certainly it became a big day in communists and socialist
countries later on, and still is in many communist countries.
In America, they did not want to relate a Labor
(09:39):
Day to that incident, so they moved it to the
first Monday in September, which kind of falls halfway between
the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, the only two other
holidays most people had at that time federal holidays at least,
so it was it was a compromise that was to
(10:00):
the celebration of labor away from the memory of the
Haymarket Square riots in eighteen eighty four.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
I'm gonna go a little bit off script here because
I know you are not necessarily a fashion person, but
you are a fashion icon with a very thin glasses
and the neatly trimmed beard. The idea about not wearing
white after labor day, any idea where that came from.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Yeah, that's an old tradition that you wore white. I mean,
most this was more of a business tradition than working
class people's tradition. Working class people wore overalls and denim
for the most part, but the working classes what we
call the white shoe law firms, and they kind of
(10:49):
took most of the summer off because it was hot
and there was no air conditioning, and you wore white
because it was cooler. And then the fashion statements that basically, well,
once you come back to work after labor day, you've
taken the whole the summer off, you go back to
wearing your office wear, which would be black or navy
(11:10):
blue or you know, typical office clothing. And so that
kind of became ensconced in the fashion as a rule
that you don't wear white after Labor Day. I think
that rule is long gone. I have to say, in
more than thirty years of speaking on the radio, no
one has referred to me as a fashion icon before.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
So well, anybody that's seen you for that, anybody that's
seen you knows that you are. And I should have known.
I couldn't stump you with a question after all of
those years of talking about all of these holidays and history,
what do you find are the biggest myths or the
biggest misconceptions about Labor Day.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Well, I think that most people think of it as just,
you know, as the end of summer, and they don't
associate it with why it came to be. And that's
why I do think it's important to talk about it,
especially at this moment in our history right now, when
you know, obviously things are historically speaking pretty good for
(12:07):
working people. We know the unemployment rate is kind of
sitting around a historic low. There's work. There are a
lot of work related issues that, however, that are very
very troubling in the country right now. The replacement of
a lot of jobs with artificial intelligence. It's coming and
(12:28):
people have to certainly be aware of it. In fact,
I was just reading a couple of weeks ago that
people who've been told for the last twenty years or
so to you know, get your computer coding college degree,
and that would be the key to it a great future.
(12:48):
Those people are now looking for jobs at you know,
TJ Max and being baristas because those computer coding jobs
are also starting to disappear. So we're at a you know,
work has always been complicated in America, and we've treated
in different different ways over history. In fact, back in
(13:09):
the eighteen sixties, a fellow named Abraham Lincoln said labor
is the superior of capital and deserves much the higher consideration.
Not many Republican presidents would would say such a thing.
He said, capital is only the fruit of labor and
could have never existed if labor had not first existed.
(13:32):
It kind of sounds like Karl Marx is talking about
Abraham Lincoln. So there's always been this conflict between business
and labor. They have different goals. Obviously, business exists to
make profits. Labor exists to organized Labor exists to make
the best deal possible for its workers. And I think,
(13:55):
you know, if you look at the history of our country,
especially in the post war era when much of the
country was unionized. Those union wages really helped create the
American middle class. And in the past fifty years or so,
certainly in this century and maybe going back a little
(14:16):
bit more, the powers of unions have been greatly diminished.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Well, it does seem like the power, the strength of
labor unions in our country. It's kind of cyclical. It
goes up and down and usually find some balance in
the middle. Kenneth, always appreciate your time the information. I
hope you enjoy a little picnic, a little barbecue, maybe
a Labor Day white sale, and we will talk again soon.
(14:40):
Be well.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Well, it is a sale weekend, that's for sure, Manny.
I've already been my computers, my emails filled with Labor
Day special But it's not about the It's not about
the sales. It's really about, as we said, the strength
and experience of American working people who did build this country.
Thanks a lot, Manny. Always a great pleasure to talk
(15:02):
to you and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
KENNEFC Davis, author of the Don't Know Much series of books,
could find out more about him in all of his books.
Don't Know Much dot Com just a reminder if you
have any questions or comments, you can follow me on
Instagram at iod Manny is my handle at iod m
a n Y. September is National Suicide Prevention Month. It
(15:28):
serves as a call to action to raise awareness of
our nation's serious mental health issues. Let's talk about that
and everything else having to do with it. Bobby is
CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Bob, I appreciate the time, Oh my pleasure, good to
be with you.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Talk to me about the significance of this month and
what you hope Americans take away from our conversation.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Well, first, suicide is a leading cause of death in
our country, and this is a moment in time and
calendar in September where we want people to become educated
about suicide, what to look for warning signs, how to
help someone who may be struggling, and just to become
more kind of, if you will, mental health literate and
(16:15):
to take care of our mental health and to make
sure those around us do the same. So it's a
good moment in the calendar to really focus on mental
health and specifically suicide prevention.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
It does seem like the even though there's still quite
a bit of stigma concerning mental health and someone asking
for help. We've really come a long way in terms
of addressing that, have we not as a country?
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Oh, yes we have, and it's so much better. I mean,
people are more open about talking about how they feel
emotionally right and reaching out and asking for help. And
there's no shame in that. Actually it's the opposite. We
see it as a courageous act. If someone's having a
hard time, you know, ask for help. There's great great inventions,
(17:01):
there's great treatments, and sometimes it's just a matter of
getting some support to get you through a hard time.
You know, if we had, you know, aches and pains
from something physical, we would ask go to the doctor,
we'd ask for help. Right. We want people to do
the same thing when they may be struggling with their
mental health. And we all go through periods in our
lives where you know, there may be things troubling us.
(17:22):
It's not it's not anything of weakness. It's actually a
sign of strength to be able to ask someone or
talk to someone you trust and say, look, I'm going
through this, it's okay. And you will get better. But
we cannot let people ignore it, because when they ignore it, it
can get worse. And the worst possible outcome, obviously, is
someone becomes so despondent, so hopeless, that they think about
(17:46):
taking their lives.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
All of the progress that we have made, we still
have a long way to go in terms of normalizing
the idea that it's okay to not only talk about
issues when you're when you're having some sort of mental
health crisis, but to ask for help.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
More importantly, absolutely, and we know so much more about
how to help these days, and talk therapies. There's wonderful
therapies that people can use. In some cases, people may
even need medication, and that's okay too. The thing is
stay focused on getting better and and you know you will.
And I think that's what we want to get out.
(18:26):
People can get better when they have our time.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Now.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
If someone's in crisis, you know by that, I mean
if someone is talking about hurting themselves or not wanting
to live, you know, becoming so hopeless, you know, maybe
abusing drugs and alcohol and just becoming you know, not themselves.
And we know when people aren't theirselves, that's when you
(18:50):
really need to take it very seriously and talk to them.
And it's okay to ask them. You know, years ago
people were afraid to ask, you know, are you're thinking
about suicide because they thought they'd put the idea in
some model. That's not the case, that's a myth. And
it's okay to ask, and people often open up and
then you can get them to help. But it's really
(19:10):
important if you see someone struggling and it's getting worse,
it's not getting petter, they're not themselves and withdrawing and
maybe even talking about not wanting to live, it's really
important to get them professional help. And there's also a
great crisis line for those who may be struggling and
really in crisis. It's nine eight eight. If you dial
(19:30):
nine eight eight, you will be connected to a counselor
who can help. So that's an important thing for listeners
to know. There's a great nationwide hotline number nine eight eight.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
All of the great work that you're doing at the
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I imagine one of your
primary goals is education. I have a feeling most people
in our country, most of our listening audience, don't even
realize that we have that National Suicide and Crisis Prevention
Hotline of nine to eight eight. How long has that
(20:05):
been around and do you find that people aren't even
aware of it.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Yeah, it's only around for about three years, and it
was a great, great move to really have a dedicated
line where anyone around the country can talk to a
trained counselor and share what they're going through. And ninety
nine percent of the crises can be resolved just by
calling the line and talking with someone and obviously if
(20:31):
it's worse then to get them into getting professional help.
But you know, it's only been around three years and
it's fairly new, and you're right, we still find there
are people who don't know about it. So and there's
also a lot of other resources about getting educated about
mental health, getting educated about suicide prevention, what you can do,
(20:53):
how to get involved, and all that is on our website.
It's AFSP dot org and there's great sources there, and
there's also resources for those who've lost a loved one.
You know, it's a terrible experience, devastating to family and
friends and workplaces and you know, classmates and so many
(21:14):
people are affected when tragically someone dies by suicide. So
there's also resources for those who've had that loss, and
all that is on the AFSP dot org website.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
What are the statistics tell us are we doing a
good job as a country addressing these issues? Are we
seeing a decline in the number of suicides in the
United States?
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Well, we've seen some up and down, and you know,
for about two decades, the suicide rate was inching up,
not going up dramatically, but going up slightly every year
for twenty years. And what we saw right before COVID
is its first decrease, a slight decrease really in twenty
(21:58):
years that lasted for two years, and unfortunately, coming out
of COVID it bounced back a bit. And that was
not surprising too, because we know during COVID there was isolation,
there was loss, there were financial problems, more use of
drugs and alcohol, things like that that we knew could
affect suicide rates. So we did see it bounce back.
(22:21):
I'm happy to say the data for twenty twenty three
shows a leveling off and a slight decrease again, and
preliminary data it's not final yet for twenty twenty four
continues to show a slight decrease, so we're hopeful that
we're on the right track. But obviously any life, one
life is too many. We want to see suicide be eradicated.
(22:43):
If you will, No one should die by suicide. There
is help and hope available.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
A couple more minutes here with Bob Gebbia, CEO of
the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Their website is AFSP
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention dot org AFSP dot org.
Social media, I imagine could be beneficial in helping combat
(23:08):
mental health issues and suicide prevention could also contribute to it.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Yeah, it's true, and you know, there's a lot of
good things you can find resources. For instance, people can
be supportive of each other through social media and not
feel as isolated because of their network and so on.
And the companies have done a pretty good job in
terms of making sure through their algorithms that if someone's
talking about suicide, resources will pop up. And so there's
(23:36):
been some real positives. Obviously, it can be used negatively
by some folks to bully others. That's a negative. And
also obviously we do know too much screen time can
can be bad for young people, especially, so you know,
I think everyone's starting to realize social media is a
wonderful thing and we're going to use it. It's here,
(23:58):
but how we use it matters, and we can use
it in positive ways, and it can have some negative
impacts too, so we have to minimize.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Those screening mental health screening in schools and by primary
care physicians. Do you think there's a lack of preparation,
a lack of training in those two areas to spot problems.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
That's a great comment. We support universal screening. We think
it's an important thing to do. Not every place is
doing it. We know that that's one of our advocacy
pushes to make sure people are screened and then have
the follow up if they screen high. But our society
is not embraced it fully. The medical profession hasn't embraced
(24:41):
it fully, and we continue to push, you know, in
healthcare settings that people get screened, and you know we
screen from many things, right, and this would be an
important thing. Mental health screening is really important and there
are questions in there often about ah, you think you're
hurting yourself and obviously if somebody says yes, then suicide
(25:02):
prevention needs to be implemented. And our medical profession isn't
always prepared. You're absolutely right. A lot more training, a
lot more follow up, a lot more use of effective treatments,
and these are all things we are pushing for at
AFSP to make sure our healthcare system really supports saving
(25:23):
lives and preventing suicide.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
We talked about how there are no cultural, socioeconomic barriers
to prevent someone from mental health issues or suicide. There
are groups that are higher at risk, veterans, law enforcement,
LGBTQ kids, things like that, and there is no one
size fits all solution to address these issues.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
That is so true. You're spot on, and there are
groups that carry higher risk and we need to be
focused on them. Obviously, it affects everybody, so we don't
want to eliminate any any prevention among any groups, but
there are groups that need extra support, and you're right.
LGBTQ youth show higher higher rates and risk for suicide
(26:12):
as well as our veterans, and that's certainly been well documented.
And working to get make sure that those in those
risk categories are connected to care, have available resources and
treatment if needed, and that's sometimes a barrier, you know,
finding care, finding affordable care. These are all things that
(26:34):
we have to do better with. And again it's we've
tried to work with our federal and state legislators and
administrations to try to ensure that there are resources for
those at high risk, and that's really important. You know.
The other thing is for all groups reach out. You know,
if a young person struggling, LGBTQ, young person, straight, young person,
(26:59):
doesn't matter. If you're having a hard time, talk to
someone and you can get better. It can get better,
and I think there's hope and we need to make
sure people understand that and there's resources. But there are
groups that need extra help. You're absolutely right, and they're
in these high risk categories.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
I know the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention does run
events to bring attention to the issue. Tell me about
some of that.
Speaker 3 (27:26):
Yes, So we are kicking off or out of the
darkness community walks. There are walks for suicide prevention. We
have post a four hundred of them all over the
country every state, many many communities participate and those walks
are really important. They kick off in September, but they
(27:47):
run through the fall Out of the darkness community walks.
You can find a walk near you by going to
afsp dot org slash walk and find a walk near you.
It's easy to find one. And why are they important
people come out for the cause. You know, there are
people who lost the loved one, there are people who
have someone who struggles, they themselves may struggle, and to
(28:11):
come to a walk for suicide prevention, it's so supportive.
You're with people who get it, who understand it helps
to reduce that sometimes feeling of loneliness and isolation. So
there's that sense of community by coming out, but you're
also raising awareness for the public, and you're also helping
to raise funds that we can then use to invest
in research and programs and advocacy so that we can
(28:35):
really prevent this tragic cause of death. So out of
the Darkness walks. We'll have about two hundred fifty to
three hundred thousand people walking all over the country this fall,
and then there's hundreds of millions and more who support walkers,
and certainly many many volunteers that help us put on
these events. But you can find a walk near you
(28:57):
at FSP dot org slash Walk.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
AFS dot org is the website. Afsp dot org. Slash
walk is where you can find out more about the
Out of the Darkness walks, and of course the National
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline nine eight eight. It is available
twenty four to seven. It is free and completely confidential.
(29:19):
Just dial nine eight eight. Bob Gebby, CEO of the
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Thank you for everything you're doing,
best of luck. Thank you so much for the time
and the information. Be well.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Thank you so much, Bye bye.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
As always, I'd love a follow on Instagram and I
follow back at IOD Manny is my handle at IOD
M A n n Y. And that'll do it for
another edition of Iheartradios Communities. I'm Manny Muno's until next time.
Host
Manny Munoz
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