A message from Stephen Hofer, Founder of Aerlex Law Group
Labor Day is upon us, a bittersweet moment marking the end of summer and a last opportunity to relax and enjoy an extra day of rest before the arrival of autumn. The fall equinox arrives at 5:04 p.m. PDT, September 22nd, and for the next six months, the nights will be longer in the Northern Hemisphere than the days and the temperatures will begin to fall as the earth’s orbit around the sun carries us toward the cold of winter. Football will replace baseball in our sports attention and Halloween and even Christmas displays are already up in the stores.
For those of us in the private aviation industry, autumn likely means longer work days and heightened stress as airplane buyers, sellers, brokers, aviation attorneys, escrow agents, pre-purchase inspection facilities and everyone else in our business tries to push through end-of-the-year transactions aimed at getting airplanes back into service, sales closed, and first functional use business flights conducted in order to support claims for accelerated depreciation. The last quarter of the year is almost always the busiest.
I personally can never think of Labor Day without recalling the Midwestern city where I grew up in the 1950s and ‘60s, one filled with nearly 20 General Motors auto manufacturing plans. My father was in management with GM, but my uncles worked on the line, as did several of the kids I went to high school with, and they were all members of the United Auto Workers, the powerful union that represented more than a million members nationwide, primarily in the states of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. I worked in one of the plants myself one summer and while I understood the underlying tension between management and labor (and sometimes heard about it at the dinner table), I always appreciated the fact that the growth of the labor movement in the automotive industry from the 1930s on had made it possible for an entire generation of American workers to join the middle class, to make the salaries that made home ownership possible, put food on the table and clothes in the closet, that paid for children to go to college, for family vacations and two-car garages and bass boats for fishing on the weekends. It was a good life in Anderson, Indiana.
Tens of thousands of those jobs have disappeared since the 1980s but there are still many proud union members working, not just in the automobile industry but also in aerospace. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is the union that represents thousands of assembly line and manufacturing workers at companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The Teamsters represent mechanics and many others in the airline industry. Those are the men and women who help build, care for and fly the airplanes that we all rely on as the bedrock of commercial aviation in the United States. Their unions don’t just negotiate for higher salaries and better health care and pension benefits, but also for stronger workplace safety requirements. I’ll be thinking of those folks on Labor Day and thanking them for the role they play in making America’s aircraft the best and safest in the world.
Today, the meaning of Labor Day extends across a much broader workforce than the factory workers who helped establish the holiday. Farmers, teachers, nurses, construction workers, engineers, truck drivers, public employees, business owners, technicians, service workers, and countless others contribute to America’s economy and communities. Modern workers face challenges that are different from those of the nineteenth century, including technological change, changing industries, and the evolving nature of employment. Labor Day provides an opportunity to recognize these contributions and to appreciate the importance of work in building strong families, businesses, and communities.
Ultimately, Labor Day is both a celebration and a moment of reflection. It gives Americans an opportunity to enjoy time with family and friends while remembering the generations of workers whose efforts helped shape the nation. The holiday reminds us that America’s strength has always depended in large part on the dedication, creativity, and perseverance of its people. As Americans celebrate Labor Day each September, they honor not only the workers of today but also those who worked before them and helped create a better future for generations to come. I hope you’ll remember them as well as you enjoy your Labor Day holiday.