Celebrate Labor Day with Fair Trade products

One way or another I have always celebrated Labor Day.

Growing up in a northeastern town, most everyone seemed to celebrate the significance of the first Monday in September, which was set aside as a national holiday to honor those who labor.

Very early on as a child, I was a curb-side spectator captivated by the clowns and free candy thrown from the business-sponsored floats in the annual 10 o'clock Labor Day parade. Later as a Boy Scout, I joined in and proudly marched along with the miners, paper mill workers and the female credit union employees. In high school, I changed into a military uniform and participated as a xylophone-playing cadet.

It seemed that if you were not in the parade yourself, you were applauding and cheering on your family, friends and neighbors from the sidewalk. It was a festive affair that also marked the end of summer vacation and heralded school start-up the next day.

Around noon there were speeches to be heard and piles of ham and lettuce sandwiches to be eaten.

Though I was more interested in the food at that time, I do remember a social studies class one fall semester where I learned of the historical bargaining table achievements of organized labor such as weekends, maternity leave, workplace safety and the elimination of child labor.

I was surprised to learn that even into the early 1900s, the total workforce in America comprised an alarming proportion of children. Organized labor had long advocated the abolition of child labor, but the national consciousness of the plight of those children lagged far behind.

Many comprehensive U.S. history books contain Lewis Hine photos of young coal miners who were among over 15,000 boys under 16 years of age who worked a full day in the coal mines of Pennsylvania as late as 1908. Their plight was similar to children who sweated out their youth in the factories and fields of the nation.

Today we recognize labor's lobbying efforts that helped bring about child labor laws in this country. They benefit all workers, whether unionized or not.

But child labor still exists in many of the countries that export their products here. One way to avoid supporting slavery and child labor practices is to buy Fair Trade products that can be purchased right here in Yuma.

For example, a couple of our largest department stores and all our chain coffee shops have some Fair Trade products available. These products are identified with prominent Fair Trade Certified logos.

So how does it work? Fair Trade organizations seek to maximize the positive elements of globalization that connect people, communities and cultures through products and ideas. At the same time, they seek to minimize the negative elements that result in lower labor, social and environmental standards and which hide the true costs of production.

Fair Trade is not charity. Through trade-based relationships it seeks to empower the producers — for instance coffee, chocolate and banana growers — to meet their own needs.

And because middlemen are not necessary, the products are affordable for consumers and return a greater percentage of the price to the producers. Its success depends on independent, successfully-run organizations and businesses — not on handouts.

So, this Labor Day, I will not be parading through town to celebrate labor's contributions to our greater society. It is too hot for one thing.

I do, however, plan to spend some leisure time reading and drinking an iced Fair Trade coffee or two. And while I am at it, I will try to sip slowly and mindfully as I ponder how the accomplishments many of us enjoy are still sought after by so many in this increasingly interconnected world.

Kevin Mann lives in Yuma.