Culture Spot : New Polling On How Americans View Labor Unions

In light of the fact that yesterday was Labor Day, a new Gallup Poll was recently released showing the opinion that Americans have concerning labor unions. To read more and see other results from this study, go to : http://www.gallup.com/poll/122744/Labor-Unions-Sharp-Slide-Public-Support.aspx#1

For vocabulary help, I recommend using http://www.macmillandictionary.com/ or www.wordreference.com.

Cartoon : Happy Labor Day! – Words to Talk About Work

See Cartoons by Cartoon by Jimmy Margulies - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com

Today is Labor Day in the United States, a federal holiday and the first long weekend of the school year. I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about some vocabulary and expressions for work!

In the cartoon, you see an interesting noun: toil. This word comes from Norman French. In French you still have the noun toiler. It is used to describe to work continuously and with a lot of effort. It is also a verb. To toil, like the noun, means to work with great difficulty to the point of exhaustion. Someone who toils is a toiler.

Labor (US) or labour (UK) is an uncountable noun and synonym for work. It is also is used to describe all the workers in a particular country, industry or a company. You might hear the term unskilled labor (la main-d’oeuvre non qualifiée) or skilled labor (la main-d’oeuvre qualifiée). Casual Labor (la main-d’oeuvre occasionnelle) is used to describe workers who provides a variety of services and is hired only a temporary or part-time basis. If workers band together into a group such as in a union, we describe this as organized labor (un mouvement syndical). Someone who is rewarded or profits from their work, we say that they enjoy or reap the fruits of their labor.

To describe work or a job that you find to be boring and very unpleasant, you would say it is a drudgery (une besogne)! If the job is tedious and requires you to collect a lot of information, to research or to move around a lot, you would say that your job requires a lot of legwork. Another way to describe very difficult and boring work which isn't very important is described as grunt work in American English and donkeywork in British English. If the boring job is done by someone of low social status, we say that it is a joe job, in other words, anyone can do it.

Another interesting work in the English language for work is travail! As you can guess it comes from the French but is pronounced a bit differently: \trə-ˈvāl, ˈtra-ˌvāl\. In English however, it is used to describe a laborious and difficult job that is painful, full of agony. For some of you, learning English is a travail! You even have the verb: to travail (s’exténuer).

Now look up for yourselves the words work and job at http://www.macmillandictionary.com/ to expand your vocabulary. At the site, you’ll find lots of usages and expressions that use both words. I’m not going to do all the work for you! LOL!

Featured Podcast : English Café 49 by ESL Pod

In this podcast from www.eslpod.com, you learn about some cultural and societal aspects of the United States. In this podcast dated from September 2006, you’ll learn about Labor Day in the United States and American charitable organizations. To listen to or download this MP3 lesson, go to: ESL Café 49

Culture Spot : Labor Day

Today’s post is taken directly from Wikipedia.

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 7 in 2009).

The holiday originated Canada out of labor disputes ("Nine-Hour Movement") first in Hamilton then Toronto Ontario in the 1870's, which resulted in a Trade Union Act which legalized and protected union activity in 1872. The parades held in support of the Nine-Hour Movement and the printers' strike led to an annual celebration in Canada. In 1882 American labor leader Peter J. McGuire witnessed one of these labor festivals in Toronto. Inspired, he returned to New York and organized the first American "labor day" on September 5 of the same year.

Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. Cleveland was also concerned that aligning a US labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair. All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday.

The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The holiday is often regarded as a day of rest and parades. Speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key than May 1 Labor Day celebrations in most countries, although events held by labor organizations often feature political themes and appearances by candidates for office, especially in election years. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school. However, of late, schools have begun well before Labor Day, as early as July 24 in many urban districts, including major southern cities in the United States such as Atlanta, Miami, and Los Angeles. In addition, Labor Day marks the beginning of the NFL and college football seasons. The NCAA usually plays their first games the week before Labor Day, with the NFL traditionally playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day. (Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day)