Interesting post, and comments.
I should note that rabbis across the country have given Dvar Torahs focusing on Labor Day, workers, Jewish tradition and texts, many of them encouraged to do so by the JLC – that is, the Jewish Labor Committee.
An Op Ed by Rabbi Elias Lieberman, “MATTERS OF FAITH: This Labor Day, celebrate the rights gained by sacrifices of workers,” in the Cape Cod Times, is online – as well as these three items, links are on the Jewish Labor Committee’s website – just scroll down on the right.
* The American Jewish Labor Movement – Basic Sources
* Traditional Jewish texts on Labor and Worker Rights – Basic Sources
* Labor Rights in the Jewish Tradition, by Michael S. Perry