Presentation Transcript

1. The Law of Labor

   The Necessity of Labor
2. History of Labor in America Struggles for Freedom 1619Slaves from Africa first imported to colonies 1677 First recorded prosecution against strikers in New York City 1791 First strike in building trades by Philadelphia carpenters for a 10-hour day bill of Rights adopted 1808Slave importation prohibited 1834First turnout of “mill girls” in Lowell, Mass., to protect wage cuts 1835General strike for 10-hour day in Philadelphia 1842Commonwealth v. Hunt decision frees unions from some prosecutions 1843Lowell Female Labor Reform Association begins public petitioning for 10-hour day 1847New Hampshire enacts first state 10-hour-day law 1861Abraham Lincoln takes office as president and Civil War begins 1863President Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation 186513th Amendment to the Constitution abolishes slavery
3. History of Labor in America Origins of Today's Union Movement 1866 National Labor Union founded 1876 Labor movement urges minimum age law Working Men’s Party proposes banning the employment of children under the age of 14 1877 National uprising of railroad workers Ten Irish coal miners ("Molly Maguire's") hanged in Pennsylvania; nine more subsequently were hanged 1881Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions formed 1882First Labor Day parade in New York City 1886American Federation of Labor founded 1890Carpenters President P.J. McGuire and the union strike and win the eight-hour day for some 28,000 members 1892 The Democratic Party adopts platform plank with recommendations to ban factory employment for children under 15 1894Boycott of Pullman sleeping cars leads to general strike on railroads 1898 Erdman Act prohibits discrimination against railroad workers because of union membership and provides for mediation of railway labor disputes
4. History of Labor in America The Progressive Era 1900 AFL and National Civic Federation promote trade agreements with employers U.S. Industrial Commission declares trade unions good for democracy. 1908AFL endorses Democrat William Jennings Bryan for President 1909“Uprising of the 20,000” female shirtwaist makers in New York strike against sweatshop conditions Unorganized immigrant steel workers strike in McKee's Rocks, Pa. And win all demands 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory in fire in New York kills nearly 150 workers 1912Bread and Roses strike begun by immigrant women in Lawrence, Mass., ended with 23,000 men and women and children on strike and with as many as 20,000 on the picket line Bill creating Department of Labor passes at the end of congressional session 1913Woodrow Wilson takes office as president and appoints the first secretary of labor, William B. Wilson of the Mine Workers 1914Ludlow Massacre of 13 women and children and seven men in Colorado coal miners’ strike 1917 United States enters World War I 1919One of every five workers walked out in great strike wave, including national clothing coal and steel strikes; a general strike in Seattle; and a police strike in Boston
5. History of Labor in America Democratizing America 1920 19th Amendment to the Constitution gives women the right to vote 1929 Stock market crashes as stocks fall 40 percent; Great Depression begins 1931 Davis-Bacon Act provides for prevailing wages on publicly funded construction projects 1935National Labor Relations Act and Social Security Act passed Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) formed within AFL 1936AFL and CIO create labor's Non-Partisan League and help President Roosevelt win re-election to a second term 1937 Auto Workers win sit-down strike against General Motors in Flint, Mich. Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters wins contract with Pullman Co. 1938Fair Labor Standards Act establishes first minimum wage and 40-hour week Congress of industrial Organizations forms as an independent federation 1941U.S. troops enter combat in World War II. National War Labor Board created with union members 1943 CIO forms first political action committee to get out the union vote for President Roosevelt
6. History of Labor in America Modern Day Era 1946 Largest strike wave in U.S. history 1963 March on Washington for jobs and Justice Equal Pay Act bans wage discrimination based on gender 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., during sanitation workers' strike 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act passed 1997 Pride at Work, a national coalition of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender workers and their supporters, becomes an AFL-CIO constituency group AFL-CIO membership renewed growth
7. Unions in America "Henry Miller, aged forty-three, the head lineman in the employ of the Potomac Light and Power Company, fell from a pole last evening about 11:30 o'clock on Newark avenue near Tenleytown road, in the Cleveland Park subdivision, and died from injuries after suffering for nearly five hours."  Evening Star, Saturday, July 11, 1896, Henry Miller, who died more than 110-years ago, was the founder, first president and driving force behind the first union of electrical workers in North America – the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
8. Education through work Society has achieved levels of thought evolution thanks to the work of past generations of men and women who have not complied with the situation they lived in. They committed themselves to change the structure of their times, oftentimes sacrificing themselves for future generations. They did not enjoy the benefits they left to posterity, but they experienced the immense satisfaction of acting in righteousness, producing the best they could wish for themselves… Joanna de Angelis, Family Constellation "With all their faults, trade unions have done more for humanity than any other organization of men (and women) that ever existed. They have done more for decency, for honesty, for education, for the betterment of the race, for the developing of character in men (and women) than any other association.“ Clarence Darrow
9. Education through work The word work comes from the Latin word tripalium, which was the name of a cruel punishment device that caused atrocious pain. It represented, therefore, a vehicle of suffering. Throughout time, the word has evolved and began to signify dignified action, any kind of effort aiming towards a high achievement, thus completely modifying its original meaning. Work is a propelling force that promotes the progress of humanity in every aspect. In the book, Family Constellation, Psychographed by Divaldo Franco, Joanna de Angelis writes about the education one gets from working
10. My Father is Always at His work In the words of Jesus when replying to the Pharisees that were admonishing him because he healed on Saturdays: My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working – John:5-17 Demonstrating the magnitude of constructive and liberating activity at all times of life.
11. The Spirits’ Book Question 674. Is the necessity of labor a law of nature? “Labor is a law of nature, and as such is a necessity per se. Because civilization both increases peoples’ needs and their enjoyments, it obliges them to work harder.”
12. The Spirits’ Book Question 676. Why has labor been imposed on humankind? “It is a consequence of their corporeal nature. It is a means of expiation and at the same time a means for protecting their intelligence. Without labor, humans would remain in intellectual infancy. Thus, they must owe their food, safety and well-being to their own labor and activity. God has granted more intelligence to certain persons in order to compensate for their physical weakness, but labor is involved nonetheless.”
13. 10 Greatest Inventions The plow The wheel The printing press Refrigeration Telephone Steam engine Automobile Light bulb Computer & Internet Television
14. Why does nature provide for animals? Humans Animals Intelligence Constantly progressing Increase of material and intellectual needs Limited intelligence No progression Strictly self-preservation Both humans and animals collaborate in the designs of the Creator, in animals, their labor plays no less of a part in the final objective of nature, although you often do not see its immediate result
15. The Spirits’ Book Question 678. On more perfected worlds, are humans subjected to the same necessity of labor? “The nature of the labor is relative to that of their needs; the fewer the material needs, the less material the labor. Yet, you must not assume that humans on such worlds remain inactive and useless; idleness would be a torture instead of a benefit.” In the book, Nosso Lar, which is a spirit colony the main focus and purpose is essentially labor and productivity
16. The Spirits’ Book Question 680. Aren’t there those who are incapable of working at anything at all and whose existence serves no purpose? “God is just and only condemns those who voluntarily live a life that serves no purpose, because they live by depending on other peoples’ work. God desires for all to make themselves useful according to their own faculties.”
17. Laziness and Boredom Human beings have been created to be active (in body and spirit) Your body is subordinate to your intelligence An active intelligence never rests, peace only can be attained through work The more you neglect work, the more anxiety it creates Those who perform the ungrateful and vile tasks in society are a hundred more times more elevated in the eyes of God then those whom impose such roles on others while neglecting their own Heaven & Hell (Hardened spirits)
18. The Spirits’ Book No one is exempt from the law of labor, specifically those who possess wealth. Those who are rich have “the obligation to render themselves useful according to their means and to perfect their own and other’s intelligence; this too is labor.” The Spirits’ Book, Q. 679 Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant.Epictetus
19. The Gospel According to Spiritism The truth of the matter is that humans have the mission of laboring for the material improvement of the planet; they must reclaim it, cleanse it and make it suitable to someday receive the entire population that its range can bear. To accomplish this, more resources are needed; necessity drove humans to create wealth, just as it drove them to discover science. Without wealth there would be no more great endeavors, no more activity, no stimulus and no research.
20. The Spirits’ Book Question 681. Does the law of nature impose upon children the obligation to work for their parents? “Certainly, just as parents must work for their children. That is the reason why God has made filial love and parental love natural sentiments so that by such mutual affection the members of the same family may be led to help each other. This is frequently not recognized in your present society.”
21. Education through work Learning discipline at home at the early stages of childhood through education The family is a hive where everyone must participate in the general duties in order to enjoy the collective benefits that come from it When parents perform the tasks that are the children’s responsibility, they are preparing them for idleness, misuse of spare time and indifference of other’s efforts The family that works together and has a program of collective action is more prosperous and happy In the book, Family Constellation, Psychographed by Divaldo Franco, Joanna de Angelis writes about the education one gets from working
22. The Limit of Labor Rest is also a law of nature, it serves to restore the strength of the body and give more freedom to intelligence. The limit of labor is the limit of one’s strength, God allows people free to decide just what that limit is. Imposing excessive work on subordinates is the worst abuse of authority and is a transgression of the law of God. Retirement from work is a human right, as none are expected to labor beyond their ability to do so. The strong should work for the weak. In the absence of a family, society should replace it. That is the law of charity. The Spirits’ Book, questions 682-685
23. Allan Kardec Summary Education; not intellectual education but moral education; not moral education through books, but moral education that consists in the art of forming character; moral education that creates habits. When one considers the mass of individuals who are daily thrown into the torment of the population, without principles, without restraints and handed over to their own instincts, can one wonder at the disastrous consequences? When the art of education is recognized, understood and practiced, all individuals of the world will follow the habits of order and forethought for themselves and dependants. They will respect whatever is respectable, and will have habits that enable them to less painfully endure unavoidable adverse days. Disorder and lack of forethought are two sores that only a sound education can heal. That is the starting point, the real element of well-being, the guarantee of security for all.