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The History of Labor Day – and Why It Matters for Our Future

September 05, 2017
Staff

WRITER

Did you know that the history of Labor Day is both socialist and racist? People wanted labor unions in the 1800s because factory working conditions were horrifying, and socialists exploited their pain for an agenda, something that we now commemorate each September. On radio Tuesday, Glenn explored the history of the holiday and its implications for our future.

“They want to take the downtrodden, and they want to turn them into revolutionaries who will level the playing field by the redistribution of wealth,” Glenn said. “It’s the same story that’s happening today was happening back in the 1800s.”

Marxists got a “foot in the door” by taking advantage of the terrible working conditions of the time. Peter McGuire, an influential advocate for unions who is known as the “father” of Labor Day, selected Sept. 5 as the date for the first labor parade since it was halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.

Even though they were pretending to fight for every worker, early labor activists limited their advocacy based on race.

“The labor unions now are using this and saying ‘All laborers matter, all labor lives matter,’” Glenn explained the activism of the time. “Well, except if you’re black or you’re Asian or you’re Irish; then we don’t accept you.”

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: On the president's plate now: Hurricane Harvey. $8 million he needs from Congress. He's got to get Congress to move the debt limit. The investigations are continuing on Russia. He now has Korea. He has -- another thing he's dealing with: Keith Schiller, his former bodyguard, he apparently is crushed by the departure of this man who has been by his side forever. He's got a lot going on his plate. And then we have Antifa. Do we have an update on Antifa, what happened this weekend?

STU: Well, the LA -- California is now trying to classify them as a street gang, which is -- the Berkeley mayor said Antifa is no different than a street gang. However, I totally disagree with that. It's much, much worse than a street gang, but, yes, it's similar.

GLENN: Have you noticed though that they're starting to turn? Everybody is starting to turn on Antifa, which is a really good thing. Well, not everybody is starting to turn. They're starting -- they're slowly coming to this.

STU: When you've lost Nancy Pelosi though, that is a big moment in your life.

GLENN: You've lost a lot.

Let me share something with you that yesterday we celebrated Labor Day. And do we even know what we were really even celebrating? Do we even know this came from Canada? It's Marxist. It was a union strike. Riots. Death.

And the very first time. We've heard this in every movie. You know, I've watched Air Force One. "Mr. President, we cannot negotiate with terrorists."

Do you realize that this, that Labor Day is our negotiation with terrorists? That's the only reason why we have this.

In the late 1800s, Americans started to gravitate toward labor unions. And we did it because everything in factories were horrible. The factories and the mines, all of the things that were fueling the second industrial revolution. Unions were needed because people were working 12-hour, 15-hour workdays, seven-day workweeks. There was no compensation if you were hurt on the job. You had low wages. No benefits. Inadequate breaks. They were filthy, dangerous workspaces. You want to talk about a safe space -- I don't think there was any.

And the problem was, is America went through a change kind of exactly the way it's going through right now, to where it's leaving a whole group of people behind because we haven't figured it out yet. So in the late 1800s, the Industrial Revolution was leaving a whole group of people behind. And this is where Marxism, Marxist, socialist, the Antifas of the world, this is their sweet spot, because there's a sense of basic unfairness.

And it's down at the bottom. And that is the point that Marxists like to make. Get the bottom to rise up.

They want to take the downtrodden. And they want to turn them into revolutionaries, who will level the playing field by the redistribution of wealth. It's the same story that was -- that's happening today, was happening back in the 1800s. So the factory working conditions, and the fact that some people were making a lot of money, and some people were working seven days a week and they didn't have anything, gave Marxists a foot in the door.

And this is where a guy who most Americans have never even heard of, Paul -- no, Peter J. McGuire. This is where he comes in. He was living in New York City. He was an Irish Catholic from New York. He was a devout Marxist. Here is 1874. He cofounds the Social Democratic Working Party of North America. That's the first communist, Marxist political party in the US.

He also founded something that we all know because we still have it today. He was the cofounder of the American Federation of Labor. The AFL. AFL-CIO. This became the most powerful union in the country. And his goal, stated, was to convert and transform America to a socialist nation through labor unions. So this is sweeping the entire West because of the Industrial Revolution. And labor officials up in Toronto, Canada, invite this guy and say, you got to come up. We have this labor festival that you're going to love. And we've been doing this for ten years now. You guys have to do this.

And so McGuire goes up and he loves it. He comes back and he's like, we have to have a parade. Now, imagine, you're a coal miner. And you're like, "You're going to have a, what?"

"We've got to have a parade." So he picks the day of the parade as September 5th. And the reason why is because he felt it fell halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. I didn't even know this part of the story.

So the parade was a hit. Thirty-thousand-plus marchers skipped the work for the day in New York. They listened to speeches. The last thing I'm going to do on my day off is listen to a bunch of speeches about 8-hour workdays and how Marxism is going to heal the world, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And then they have a big parade in New York City. It becomes huge, and it becomes an annual event. And it catches on all around the country, and the labor unions now are using this and saying, "All labor is matter. All labor lives matter." Well, except if you're black or you're Asian or you're Irish, then we don't accept you into the AFL. But other than that, all laborers matter.

Did I forget to tell you the Marxist that started the labor unions -- before you build a statue, we should probably tear it down, because he was a wild racist. Five years go by, Labor Day is now an official holiday in 30 states. But they can't get the United States government to declare it a holiday. Because at that point, we're not declaring holidays as the federal government. States can do whatever you want. It's 1894. And there is a strike done by the AFL that is huge. And it changes the way America looks at September 5th.

It was in Pullman, Illinois. Now, if you've ever heard the name Pullman before, it might be because you know George Pullman. You know Pullman, Illinois. Most likely, you know it because of the Pullman train car. I don't think I could tell you what Pullman train car was, other than it was the best train car made. And I think it was a sleeping car.

Well, who has got the money to stay in those sleeping cars? Oh, my gosh. It's the wealthy people.

So 1894, the economy tanks. And things get really bad. And Pullman, who is this capitalist who actually has a -- from what I understand, has a pretty good relationship with his -- with his people, because he's done kind of what the Cadbury people did. Yeah, the chocolate people over in England. And that is, they saw that Marxism was not the answer. But they also saw that there were problems. And so Cadbury went, and they built themselves a town. And they put doctors in the town. And everybody who worked there could live in the town. Well, Pullman does kind of the same thing, except his heart is not really in it.

So when the economy collapses, he of mind to lay off hundreds of people. And then anybody who remained, he had to lower their wages. But he also was their landlord. And the landlord side of him was like, "I don't being what happened at your job. That doesn't affect me." And so he didn't lower the rent for any of the company houses.

This is what opened the terror for the Marxists to come in. The evil capitalists can't get away with that. They had to shut him down. So the workers went on strike. And all of the sympathetic railroad workers around the country joined in. And then just like it does in Berkeley -- just like it happens every single time: a Marxist, socialist rally turns violent -- turns violent. And rioting sets in. They burn hundreds of these rail cars.

The unrest cripples the railroad industry, shuts down the railroad, shuts down the delivery of the US mail. And one of the worst, Grover Cleveland, gets involved. He's president at the time. And he decides he's going to send in 12,000 troops into Chicago to break the strike.

How does that work out? Just like you would imagine. The troops and strikers, they start to exchange fire. Two strikers are killed.

Now, why doesn't president Cleveland have people on his side? Because there was a problem. People were hungry. People weren't looking at reason anymore. And they were seeing people get rich, while they were being screwed. It's the only reason why the labor unions were necessary. Because there was a need for somebody to stand up.

President Cleveland is -- this is not a good response. And he's now in crisis. And it's also a midterm election year. And the Democrats don't want to lose. So what does Cleveland do?

As he's getting ready to pull the troops out? He holds negotiations, and Congress rams through a bill to make Labor Day a federal holiday. We negotiated with the terrorists. We said, "If you pull out, we'll not only help you with Pullman, but we'll also make Labor Day a national holiday." Of course, we don't negotiate with terrorists. So we're going to wait a whole six days after the strike was broken. Then we'll do it. But those are two -- they're completely unrelated.

The Marxist terrorists had torched the railways. The trains across the country had stopped. And the president delivered his first gift.

What we celebrated yesterday was a Canadian idea, copied in America, by the Marxist founder of the American Socialist Party. And the AFL. It was made a federal holiday by a Congress and president trying just to save face and win votes in an election year. And it was the very first of countless bones that the Democratic Party would throw to labor unions over the next century.

Oh, and, by the way, Peter J. McGuire, the Marxist, racist, anti-immigrant, cofounder of the American Socialist Party, AFL, in 1901, it ended for him the way it usually ends for these guys. Either in a violent death or going to jail. In 1901, he was arrested for embezzling union funds. Stealing from the workers. Because I guess for some people, socialism, eh, it moves too slowly in the redistribution of wealth.

(music)

Is the U.N. plotting to control 30% of U.S. land by 2030?

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

A reliable conservative senator faces cancellation for listening to voters. But the real threat to public lands comes from the last president’s backdoor globalist agenda.

Something ugly is unfolding on social media, and most people aren’t seeing it clearly. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) — one of the most constitutionally grounded conservatives in Washington — is under fire for a housing provision he first proposed in 2022.

You wouldn’t know that from scrolling through X. According to the latest online frenzy, Lee wants to sell off national parks, bulldoze public lands, gut hunting and fishing rights, and hand America’s wilderness to Amazon, BlackRock, and the Chinese Communist Party. None of that is true.

Lee’s bill would have protected against the massive land-grab that’s already under way — courtesy of the Biden administration.

I covered this last month. Since then, the backlash has grown into something like a political witch hunt — not just from the left but from the right. Even Donald Trump Jr., someone I typically agree with, has attacked Lee’s proposal. He’s not alone.

Time to look at the facts the media refuses to cover about Lee’s federal land plan.

What Lee actually proposed

Over the weekend, Lee announced that he would withdraw the federal land sale provision from his housing bill. He said the decision was in response to “a tremendous amount of misinformation — and in some cases, outright lies,” but also acknowledged that many Americans brought forward sincere, thoughtful concerns.

Because of the strict rules surrounding the budget reconciliation process, Lee couldn’t secure legally enforceable protections to ensure that the land would be made available “only to American families — not to China, not to BlackRock, and not to any foreign interests.” Without those safeguards, he chose to walk it back.

That’s not selling out. That’s leadership.

It's what the legislative process is supposed to look like: A senator proposes a bill, the people respond, and the lawmaker listens. That was once known as representative democracy. These days, it gets you labeled a globalist sellout.

The Biden land-grab

To many Americans, “public land” brings to mind open spaces for hunting, fishing, hiking, and recreation. But that’s not what Sen. Mike Lee’s bill targeted.

His proposal would have protected against the real land-grab already under way — the one pushed by the Biden administration.

In 2021, Biden launched a plan to “conserve” 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. This effort follows the United Nations-backed “30 by 30” initiative, which seeks to place one-third of all land and water under government control.

Ask yourself: Is the U.N. focused on preserving your right to hunt and fish? Or are radical environmentalists exploiting climate fears to restrict your access to American land?

Smith Collection/Gado / Contributor | Getty Images

As it stands, the federal government already owns 640 million acres — nearly one-third of the entire country. At this rate, the government will hit that 30% benchmark with ease. But it doesn’t end there. The next phase is already in play: the “50 by 50” agenda.

That brings me to a piece of legislation most Americans haven’t even heard of: the Sustains Act.

Passed in 2023, the law allows the federal government to accept private funding from organizations, such as BlackRock or the Bill Gates Foundation, to support “conservation programs.” In practice, the law enables wealthy elites to buy influence over how American land is used and managed.

Moreover, the government doesn’t even need the landowner’s permission to declare that your property contributes to “pollination,” or “photosynthesis,” or “air quality” — and then regulate it accordingly. You could wake up one morning and find out that the land you own no longer belongs to you in any meaningful sense.

Where was the outrage then? Where were the online crusaders when private capital and federal bureaucrats teamed up to quietly erode private property rights across America?

American families pay the price

The real danger isn’t in Mike Lee’s attempt to offer more housing near population centers — land that would be limited, clarified, and safeguarded in the final bill. The real threat is the creeping partnership between unelected global elites and our own government, a partnership designed to consolidate land, control rural development, and keep Americans penned in so-called “15-minute cities.”

BlackRock buying entire neighborhoods and pricing out regular families isn’t by accident. It’s part of a larger strategy to centralize populations into manageable zones, where cars are unnecessary, rural living is unaffordable, and every facet of life is tracked, regulated, and optimized.

That’s the real agenda. And it’s already happening , and Mike Lee’s bill would have been an effort to ensure that you — not BlackRock, not China — get first dibs.

I live in a town of 451 people. Even here, in the middle of nowhere, housing is unaffordable. The American dream of owning a patch of land is slipping away, not because of one proposal from a constitutional conservative, but because global powers and their political allies are already devouring it.

Divide and conquer

This controversy isn’t really about Mike Lee. It’s about whether we, as a nation, are still capable of having honest debates about public policy — or whether the online mob now controls the narrative. It’s about whether conservatives will focus on facts or fall into the trap of friendly fire and circular firing squads.

More importantly, it’s about whether we’ll recognize the real land-grab happening in our country — and have the courage to fight back before it’s too late.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

URGENT: FIVE steps to CONTROL AI before it's too late!

MANAURE QUINTERO / Contributor | Getty Images

By now, many of us are familiar with AI and its potential benefits and threats. However, unless you're a tech tycoon, it can feel like you have little influence over the future of artificial intelligence.

For years, Glenn has warned about the dangers of rapidly developing AI technologies that have taken the world by storm.

He acknowledges their significant benefits but emphasizes the need to establish proper boundaries and ethics now, while we still have control. But since most people aren’t Silicon Valley tech leaders making the decisions, how can they help keep AI in check?

Recently, Glenn interviewed Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist deeply concerned about the potential harm of unchecked AI, to discuss its societal implications. Harris highlighted a concerning new piece of legislation proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation proposes a state-level moratorium on AI regulation, meaning only the federal government could regulate AI. Harris noted that there’s currently no Federal plan for regulating AI. Until the federal government establishes a plan, tech companies would have nearly free rein with their AI. And we all know how slowly the federal government moves.

This is where you come in. Tristan Harris shared with Glenn the top five actions you should urge your representatives to take regarding AI, including opposing the moratorium until a concrete plan is in place. Now is your chance to influence the future of AI. Contact your senator and congressman today and share these five crucial steps they must take to keep AI in check:

Ban engagement-optimized AI companions for kids

Create legislation that will prevent AI from being designed to maximize addiction, sexualization, flattery, and attachment disorders, and to protect young people’s mental health and ability to form real-life friendships.

Establish basic liability laws

Companies need to be held accountable when their products cause real-world harm.

Pass increased whistleblower protections

Protect concerned technologists working inside the AI labs from facing untenable pressures and threats that prevent them from warning the public when the AI rollout is unsafe or crosses dangerous red lines.

Prevent AI from having legal rights

Enact laws so AIs don’t have protected speech or have their own bank accounts, making sure our legal system works for human interests over AI interests.

Oppose the state moratorium on AI 

Call your congressman or Senator Cruz’s office, and demand they oppose the state moratorium on AI without a plan for how we will set guardrails for this technology.

Glenn: Only Trump dared to deliver on decades of empty promises

Tasos Katopodis / Stringer | Getty Images

The Islamic regime has been killing Americans since 1979. Now Trump’s response proves we’re no longer playing defense — we’re finally hitting back.

The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.

Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.

It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.

Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.

The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.

The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.

Operation Midnight Hammer

The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.

USAF / Handout | Getty Images

To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.

As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.

They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.

If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.

This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.

What comes next

We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.

Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.

That would be catastrophic.

The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.

The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?

Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.

Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.

Now we pray

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.

The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.

He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Globalize the Intifada? Why Mamdani’s plan spells DOOM for America

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

If New Yorkers hand City Hall to Zohran Mamdani, they’re not voting for change. They’re opening the door to an alliance of socialism, Islamism, and chaos.

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he's saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.