Labor Day Going High-Tech at Online Festival

The old-fashioned joys of Labor Day are getting a 21st-century spin this year. A festival website complete with bands, political speakers, an arcade, bazaar and even a virtual parade is going online for a week to celebrate the annual workers’ holiday. And just like a county fair, CWA and other unions will have booths that online festival-goers can visit.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun for everyone, kids and adults. And they’ll learn a lot, too,” CWA President Morton Bahr said. “For us, it’s a chance to help people understand why the labor movement is so vital and why we fight so hard for working families.”
The website, sponsored by the AFL-CIO, will run from noon on Aug. 30 through Sept. 6. Labor Day, recognized as a federal holiday since 1894, is Sept. 4. To visit the festival, go to CWA’s page on the working families webpage at cwa.workingfamilies.com.
Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find at the online celebration:

• A music tent with alternative rock, hip hop, gospel and folk music focusing on working people and social justice.
  
• A cinema showcasing labor activism, including clips of recent strike victories by janitors in major cities.
  
• A speakers’ tent with greetings from celebrities, elected leaders and top labor leaders.
  
• A parade that creators say will be “as animated and entertaining as the real thing.”
  
• A voter registration booth and elected leader mailbox to send messages to Capitol Hill.
  
• A labor-and-faith gathering featuring Labor in the Pulpits information, calls for worker justice from diverse religious communities and addresses by leading multi-denominational clergy.
  
• An online bazaar featuring union-made T-shirts, hats and other items.
  
• Labor Day greeting cards to send to anyone on your e-mail list.
  
• A games arcade where visitors can play “Smash Corporate Greed,” “Find the Health Insurance” and compare their pay to corporate CEOs.
  

You don’t have to wait for the festival to check out cwa.workingfamilies.com. The site features daily labor news, union-friendly shopping and scores of resources for working families, from homework help for kids to consumer tips.