2017 - September 4 - Finest Worksong

Today is Labor Day here in the US, the day to show that we-love-our-workers-but-we'll-show-that-we're-not-socialist-by-picking-a-date-other-than-May-1-as-that-would-make-the-day-more-meaningful-by-standing-with-workers-worldwide. Yup, rather than using May 1 - also known as International Workers' Day, the US opted for the first Monday in September. But what else can you expect from a country where the employers are valued more than the employees? If you disagree with that, all I need to point out is that labor protections from mandatory overtime are next to nonexistent, paid sick and vacation time is extremely limited, and minimum wage is constantly under attack and kept so low that they keep full time workers below the poverty limit. Now some might take this as me being ungrateful for my new home country, but I will maintain that part of being an American is to have freedom of speech, and I see it both as my right and my duty to speak up about things I don't like. In my job, I constantly work with students wanting to better themselves to jobs above minimum wage, so I am trying to participate in making a difference. And who knows, at one point it might be time to become more politically charged again..,

The song for Labor Day is by R.E.M., it's a song from the fantastic 1987 album Document, which I think is my favorite R.E.M. album. It's a great song for Labor Day: Finest Worksong.