2014 is the 120th national celebration of labor in the United States. During that time, labor has seldom had true respect in this country. The way history is taught in this country many folks believe that labor strife ended with Samuel Gompers and the advent of Labor Day. But as any true historian will tell you, Labor Day was merely a recognition of the power the labor movement had achieved, but was hardly a cessation in the war against labor as waged by the ownership class in this country.

Since 1894, the US has seen constant and continuing attempts by capitalists to incapacitate and neuter the labor movement in this country. Considering that all of us but those at the very top are laborers of some sort, this is a war on most Americans and their ability to earn a living and provide for their families.

Over the decades labor won some battles. When one thinks of what has become a “standard” work week, one thinks of 40 hours, 8 hours a day with a couple of coffee breaks and a lunch period, with overtime above 40 hours in a week. Many take such an arrangement for granted, almost as if it always existed. However, as many have been learning since the ascendancy of Ronald Reagan, none of what we take as standard is written in stone. All these rules and many more which we have come to believe as standard were won through hard negotiation and job actions which were often met with violence and loss of jobs.

Since the ascendancy of Reagan, the balance of power between labor and capital has dramatically shifted to the capital side of the coin. I daresay there has never been a time when Labor was in charge. For a time there was some balance, but the election of Reagan put an end to that.

Whether the Reagan administration was looking for a battle against labor to hang its hat on, or if the strike by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) was actually a narrow battle of the day, the firing of of the strikers by Reagan became a true watershed moment in Labor relations. In short, Labor has never recovered and management has seen victory after victory especially in congresses which have become increasingly management friendly.

To keep the price of labor low, which is one of the major goals, labor must be treated as a commodity and as such an excess must always be available. This is the logic behind Republicans, acting for management, pushing legislation that aids moving jobs offshore, trying to raise retirement age, cuts back on retirement benefits and even the ridiculous suggestion to put children back into the labor force.

The scariest recent development in the labor front is automation. Automation has of course been around for years, but with the digital revolution the possibility of replacing jobs never before thought possible. It is not hard to imagine 3D printers replacing some highly skilled jobs. Even McDonald’s claims that if their cost of labor gets too high it will make automating their restaurants cost effective.

The Labor movement has always been steeped in conflict, usually against management, but sometimes within its own walls. The future looks quite challenging. Even if you are in management or are a professional who believes you are untouchable, you would be smart to keep an eye on and support Labor’s struggles. What happens to them will eventually happen to you. When once you got raises and benefits as Labor’s fortunes rose, so, too, will your fortunes fall as theirs do.