2.01 Days!

According to the CEO Pay Calculator on the Make Work Pay web site, it would take the average Top 500 CEO 2.01 days to make my ANNUAL SALARY! It takes me 250 days of writing blog entries, chatting with Brooke and Damian, having lunch with Chris, and scouring Daily Kos to find things like the Make Work Pay web site to do what a CEO can do in 2.01 days!

I thought I'd share this with you because today is May Day. While Angelenos are focused on the Day Without Immigants boycott, the rest of the world is celebrating a holiday that was created in Chicago and quickly dumped by the US. This is Labor Day. Today is the anniversary of the creation of the 8 hour work day -- which has grown to the 9, 10 or 12 hour work day.

I've avoided politics for several weeks, but today, I'm gonna hit you full force. I say that a lot of things are important. I think Marriage Equality is important. I think Choice is important. But really, what is most critical, I think, is a respect for work. Our culture is slowly devaluing a lot of things -- but nothing more than work. Bitch all you want about the sanctity of marriage, what about the sanctity of labor?

Conservatives talk about "freedom" and all the "men who've died fighting for our freedom." What about the millions who have died throughout the world for the right to work and be paid fairly?

Labor unions have become bureaucratic messes that blow millions of dollars on needless political campaigns (like the LA Mayor's race in 2005 featuring two solidly pro-labor candidates) but let's not forget that it was the union movement that created the 8-hour workday, the weekend, ended child labor, pushed for quality education and health care, and secured the retirements of my grandparents. Today's needs may be different, but we all should respect organized labor and the rights of the worker.

I am excited about many of the changes in the works. Andy Stern's SEIU is being bold, having split from the AFL-CIO because he believes they don't focus enough on organizing and collective bargaining. The newly created Change to Win Coalition is innovative and creative. Check them out. Find out how long you'd have to work as a CEO to make your current salary. And next time you see a picket line, remember the May Day Riots in Chicago, thank those striking workers and find somewhere else to spend your money. May I suggest SeanCody.com (NSFW)!