Good morning everyone. It’s great to see so many of you here, celebrating Labor Day in the way it was meant to be celebrated—by gathering here with other union members and their families, sharing food, and enjoying the music and fellowship.
Labor Day was intended to be a public display of the strength, unity, and spirit of the union movement. The very first Labor Day was organized by the Central Labor Union of New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. This was not a holiday, but 10,000 workers from 50 different unions just didn’t show up for work. They took the day off and marched in a street parade from City Hall, up Broadway, to Union Square Park, where they held a festival and picnic for the workers and their families.
It was a great success and the New York labor unions held another parade and picnic on Wednesday, September 5, 1983. It would become an annual event, except they changed the day to Monday. They declared the first Monday in September would be a “workingmen’s holiday.” The idea of a holiday dedicated to working people spread quickly. Union members have the power to vote, and labor unions organized and focused that power to pass laws making Labor Day an official holiday in many cities and states. By 1894, 23 states recognized Labor Day as a holiday, and later that year, the US Congress passed a bill making the first Monday in September a National Holiday in honor of workers, to their achievements, and contributions to society.
Labor Day is very different from any other holiday. It is the only holiday dedicated to working people. It is the only holiday created by the political power of labor unions.
Labor Day reminds us that many of the good things we enjoy today, are the result of the hard work and sacrifice of union members who came before us. To all you retirees here, we say “Thank You!” We owe a debt of gratitude to the many retirees here. When they were active members, they worked hard to keep our union strong, to improve our wages and benefits, to get involved in union political action and elect politicians who will stand together with working people. Many of these retirees are still helping with political action, holding signs, making phone calls, and stuffing envelopes. Our retirees are doing more than their share of work and we need more of you active members to help with political action.
Labor Day reminds us that political action is still vitally important to working people. We have a very important primary election this September 18 and on November 3rd, the General Election will elect our next governor. We need your help to elect our union endorsed candidates. Just give us a couple hours of your time. Come out to hold signs and help where you can. Your participation will make a difference.
Let’s show Maui and Hawaii that the labor movement and the ILWU is strong, united, and believes that together we can create a better world.
Global tourism shows strong recovery in 2010 Asian business travel grows faster than Europe
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the travel industry continues to recover faster than expected, but with sharp regional differences. Europe is recovering at half the speed of Asia with passenger growth of 7.8% compared to the 15.5% growth in Asia-Pacific.
The IATA announced international scheduled traffic statistics for June which showed continued strong demand growth as the industry recovers from the impact of the global financial crisis. Compared to June 2009, international passenger demand was up 11.9% while international scheduled freight traffic showed a 26.5% improvement.
Capacity increased only slightly above demand improvements during the month, keeping load factors in line with historical highs at 79.8% for passenger traffic and 53.8% for freight.
“The industry continues to recover faster than expected, but with sharp regional differences. Europe is recovering at half the speed of Asia with passenger growth of 7.8% compared to the 15.5% growth in Asia-Pacific,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
Outside of Europe, all regions reported double-digit growth in passenger traffic. “The question is how long can the industry maintain the double-digit momentum. Business confidence remains high and there is no indication that the recovery will stall any time soon. But, with government stimulus packages tailing off and restocking largely completed, we do expect some slowing over the months ahead,” said Bisignani.
International passenger demand up After a dip in April due to the volcanic ash crisis centered in Europe, international passenger demand has returned to its upward growth trend. Passenger volumes are now 1-2% above the pre-recession peak in the first quarter of 2008.
Middle Eastern carriers continue
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