Labor Day – a time to celebrate summer and America’s workers

Published 11:23 am Tuesday, August 29, 2023

We’re just a couple of days away from September and we wonder: Where has summer gone?

Friday, we will turn the calendar over as it will be the first day of September, and autumn will soon be itching to get in the door. Soon, the ground will be covered with colored leaves, the trees bare, and instead of blooming flowers, there will be decorations of pumpkins, scarecrows, and fodder shocks.

Labor Day might be viewed as a symbolic end to summer, but it stands for much more than the changing of seasons. The federal holiday, celebrated on the first Monday of September, is a recognition of the U.S. workforce. It’s a salute to organized labor, the folks who fought to end sweatshops and to implement workplace safety regulations. These are the folks who brought us paid time off and a 40-hour work week.

Our country’s strength was forged through blue-collar workers. But the pandemic has taught us just how valuable laborers are to our way of life. Everywhere we look, there are signs that say “Help Wanted.” Grocery stores, restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals – all need workers.