– George Meany – Labor Day Address – Sept. 1, 1967 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Labor Day in 1967 was on the pessimistic side. Unrest all over the country. Poverty, cities in turmoil, unemployment, the Vietnam War sapping the country of resources – physical and monetary. The Summer of Love to some, but for everyone else, a time of great uncertainty.
And so for his annual Labor Day message, AF of L – CIO President George Meany delivered a cautious address in the midst of the pessimism. He spoke about the need for more programs to aid poverty and unemployment. He blasted Congress for its failure to act responsibly. In the 23 Programs introduced to Congress since the beginning of the session, not one had been enacted. Over 200,000 housing units, which Congress approved funding for, had not yet been built. The War on Poverty had stalemated in Congress, and it was this gloomy assessment that greeted most of America on this Labor Day in 1967.
Doesn’t sound that much different from Labor Day 2023. Good intentions and urgent appeals, stalemated by an ineffective Congress. America bogged down in a War it can’t afford and sapped of its strength by the forces of greed.
Some things just keep going around in circles.
Here is that Labor Day 1967 Address by George Meany.
Enjoy the day of rest – there’s a lot of work to do.
And while you’re here . . .you know we don’t run ads – stopped running them more than a few years ago. The ads were noisy and pretty awful and they were a huge distraction, having to wade through a lot of useless barking in order to get to the good stuff. But we still have to pay the bills, and there’s a ton of them and they don’t like to wait. And so we ask you consider becoming a subscriber and support all the stuff we do every day by kicking in what amounts to being an Americano Grande every month to be part of the solution and not the problem. In todays bizarre economy it ain’t much – but it means a ton to Past Daily. All you have to do (and we make this as simple and pain-free as possible) is head over to Patreon (that red box just below that says “Become A Patron” that you click on) and check us out. You can do 7 days free just to kick the tires and take a test drive. And if you like us, hit the subscribe button and become part of our rather haywire little family. Not bad, considering we just want you to like us.
