Except here in Massachusetts where officially, as of yesterday “Independence Day”, lots of people are clocking into work at retail shops, service stations, and other areas of the economy where wages are traditionally low but at least, until yesterday, we saw fit to give these citizens a little “thank you” with time and a half pay on holidays and Sundays. Sure, we have the holiday off and most of us have the weekend off but it sure makes our lives easier if we can go to the drive up for an iced coffee on our way to pick up dry cleaning, maybe stop by the food market and grab a pre-made dish to pass for the picnic we are headed to where we will enjoy the holiday or leisurely Sunday afternoon with friends.
Until now. Now they are not being paid extra. Now Sundays and Holidays are just one of 365 days of the year, none different from the rest. No, these are not “high school kids”, they are people of all ages, many in their senior years. So yeah, Uncle Bill can’t make it to Christmas Dinner this year as he’s working the afternoon shift at Burger King on the Mass Pike – for straight pay. And sorry, Grandma won’t be watching the 4th fireworks with the grand kids tonight, she’s cleaning the rest rooms at the casino, for straight pay.
There was a time when Massachusetts led the nation in worker’s rights. We were the first to have child labor laws. Now, we are cutting workers rights “because other states do not have these same wage laws and we need to be competitive”….
It’s truly sad to see how far we’ve fallen.
Goodbye Holidays.
