The Washington Post looks back….
Though the country had unions to protect laborers at that time — and Labor Day, a federal holiday to honor them — child labor was widespread and widely accepted. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that around the turn of the century, at least 18 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 15 were employed….
The “breaker boys” at a Pennsylvania coal mine, photographed by Hine in 1911. (Library of Congress)…
twitter….
When union membership has risen, the middle class has got more of the nation’s total income and the richest 10 percent less; as membership has fallen, the middle has got less and the richest more. Happy Labor Day.