Local perspective: Remember the workers this Labor Day
by Jeffrey Smith
I never really thought about the significance of Labor Day until very recently.
For me, it was always just another day off – either from school or from the daily grind of a career.
But recently, I began to think about the important place that work actually occupies in the lives of most of us. If you stop and think about it, the average person probably spends more time at work (eight-plus hours a day, five days a week at least) than we do at home.
If this is the case, then we really should stop and think about the importance of labor, not just in our own lives but in the life of our community.
As you may recall, in a previous column about Memorial Day, I mentioned my dad’s father. For this column, I would like to highlight my maternal grandfather, Frank Kocyan Jr.
Grandpop Kocyan spent more than 50 years as an electrician. He first started working as part of, and later taking over, the electrical contracting business founded by his father, Frank Kocyan Sr.
My grandfather spent hours working on the wiring of countless old row homes throughout the Polish immigrant communities of Canton and Fells Point. He repaired the wiring – free of charge – in his family church, St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, on South Ann Street throughout his career.
His tireless service helped to keep the working families of east Baltimore out of the dark so that they could lead productive lives themselves.
If you look around eastern Baltimore County, it becomes quite clear that we have a great many folks working with the same sort of quiet dedication as did my Grandpop Kocyan.
Many of them are located at industrial operations, like General Motors’ Allison Transmission Plant right here in Perry Hall/White Marsh.
Some travel down Route 43 to work at either Lockheed Martin or Middle River Aircraft Systems, while other folks travel over to Towson and the Black and Decker headquarters.
Still others – although not as many as in the industrial boom of the 1950s – drive down to Sparrows Point to forge iron into steel.
A growing number of folks are working in such emerging fields as biotechnology and other cutting-edge, scientific endeavors.
Whatever path they choose, we are surrounded by energetic people, who are proud to be a part of the American labor force.
Speaking of labor as a whole, there is another electrician whom I want to mention.
My neighbor, Rocco Malinowski, recently retired following a successful career as an electrician affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #24 here in Baltimore. He had a career filled with all sorts of interesting work, some of which included being involved in the renovation of the stage lighting and chandeliers at the Hippodrome Theatre.
In listening to some of his experiences at work and with his union, I have come to have a better appreciation for how organized labor plays a role in helping to build a productive workforce — through the promotion of camaraderie and teamwork that my neighbor has often mentioned.
His memories of work are also filled with recollections of annual union picnics and regular family outings with co-workers (and even sometimes their neighbors, as I can readily attest) to attend Orioles games.
It is quite obvious to me that when you like your work, and your co-workers, you are going to be more productive on the job.
In today’s workplace, where people simply don’t seem to stay in one place for their entire career – as our parents or grandparents did – any efforts that encourage people to bond as a team are good steps to keeping American industry productive and successful.
So as you prepare for the Labor Day holiday, instead of just getting ready for another backyard barbecue, why not look around for a worker to thank.
If you can’t find a hard-working electrician, like my Grandpop Kocyan or Rocco Malinowski, I’m sure you can track down a carpenter, a police officer, or a plumber, or perhaps a biochemist to commend.
If nothing else, look around at the wonderful community that we live in, with all of its convenient resources, to see firsthand the spectacular fruits of their labors, and give thanks for the people that helped to create them!
Jeffrey Smith is a resident of Perry Hall.