9/7/2020

Dear Friend, DJT,

            It’s Labor Day & you have nothing on your public schedule. How can that be? Shouldn’t you be out there singing the praises of the truckers who are card carrying members of the Teamsters? The freight division is doing its best to keep their driver’s safe by encouraging them to wear their masks when they deliver goods to college campuses in the Mid-West & to wear their Made-in-the-USA neon safety vests to avoid being run over by a colleague. We’ve got lots of union members out there doing essential work like packing meat, delivering packages & nursing CV patients. They are putting their lives on the line & deserve some recognition. A boost in pay would be best, don’t you think?

            Since I can’t party today, I read up about the origins of this federal holiday. Fascinating! Back in 1894 folks were suffering. The economy was in a nosedive so George Pullman (GMP), whose company made fancy railroad cars, cut his workers’ wages by 30%. In 1880, he made the mistake of building a town with 531 houses for his employees, but he had gone into debt to do so. In 1894, he couldn’t reduce their rents or he’d go bankrupt so his workers were paying all of their wages back to him in rent. Already troubled by all of the restrictions he placed on them, which the Chi Trib called a “heedless & vexatious parade of authority,” they could barely afford food, so they walked off their jobs. Their strike halted rail traffic in 27 states. Things came to a head in May 1886 when 30 protestors were killed by the National Guard in the riots at Haymarket Square. Sound familiar?

            While I respect GMP’s entrepreneurial spirit, his greed got the best of him. I worry that the same is happening today. It’s hard not to get carried away when you start to accumulate power & $$. It’s a cautionary tale.

            HYITL,

PS –I’d love to hear from whoever might be reading this letter. It’d be nice to know that a human in the WH laid eyes on it.