THE WORLD SEES EMPLOYERS IN A love/hate fashion. On the one hand they are crucial to the system, they are the source of income for most people. They are the providers for the many.
On the other hand, many people see employers as the source of the world’s sorrows, and wonder why we need them. They fail to see the crucial role that an employer plays in the circle of life. These people want to have goods provided for them and have vacation time. They want health insurance for all, but don’t see why people should have to work low paying, unskilled jobs like being an orderly.
There are those who see only exploitation of the worker, and those who see only the potential for profit. The nearsightedness of these two opposing views, is what allows for the sad state of our political system. We have a two party system that has broken down into “Greedy Corporations” on the one side — Republicans, and “Socialist Labor Sympathizing Sickos” on the other — Democrats.
For most of us, Labor Day means the end of the summer. But its real purpose is to honor those who make our society possible. To say “Thank You.”
It is important to recognize employees and their contributions to the society we live in. Without an employee, any business would not survive. Even the self-employed are employees of their own companies, and generally they work harder than anyone.
If it were not for the employees of the world, the computer I write on would not exist. No individual man would likely have the skills, knowledge and abilities to build this computer by himself, for my purchase, at any price. It is only through the cooperative efforts of many, that I am to sit down and hit keys that become electronic letters that are then turned into a column, which is printed by others, on machines made by yet more people, on paper manufactured by an even larger group of people. There are literally thousands of people who are responsible for the words on the paper you are reading.
Men and women work all shifts during the day to provide for people they don’t know, and will never meet. The reason why, is this capitalist society we live in, it is a society that is run on the concept of profit.
Who would work at a late night café, pouring coffee for drunks and college students, if there were not something in it for them? Granted they are probably making minimum wage, plus tips, but they are still valuing their time and being paid for it. They put forth effort and get back money. That is a profit. It may not be a huge profit, but few companies make huge profits.
The swing shift worker at the grocery store, is restocking shelves at 3 a.m. for a reason. It is not because he wants to make sure that there is a can of sardines for me when I come in at 7 p.m. He does it because the company pays him, and that provides him with a home for his family, food for his table and hopefully some vacation time.
Labor Day is about profit. It is profit for the worker and for the employer. If an employer cannot make a profit, he will soon be out of business, and that means the employee will be out of a job. The interests of the employee are linked, in a life and death struggle with the employer in this way.
This is a hard concept for many people. They want to limit the profits that a company can earn. They say it is immoral for a company to make vast amounts of money, at the expense of the lives and labor of others. I disagree.
I own pieces of two active companies. I contribute to the livelihood of roughly 20 people directly. Our employees depend on the checks we write them being negotiable at the bank. The money must be there when they need it. I carry the responsibility of making sure that employees are paid, so that they in turn can pay their nanny, to provide care for their children.
There are those who say that profits should be reduced so more can have our services. That if more people had our services it would be better for society. Maybe. But these people are not the ones who invested the money, who worked late nights at the copy center getting the presentations ready for the salesmen, who make the company profitable.
I’ve always found it curious that those who most condemn employers, have never actually been one. The people who champion the rights of the worker the loudest, and bemoan the profits of the employer the most, have never actually had it all on the line. They have not spent sleepless nights wondering how they were going to make payroll.
It is important to remember, and honor, labor. But let’s remember that the boss, is also part of the equation. You can’t have one without the other, and they both make society operate. CEO’s have been getting a lot of abuse these days. Sometimes they deserved it. But no good CEO would forget that their employees are the lifeblood of the company.
DAVID PISARRA is a Family Law lawyer in the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He welcomes your questions and comments. He or (310) 664-9969.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 4, 2007. Read the original PDF.