This happens ever year. Some deejay on the radio or newscaster on television will say something like “Labor Day is coming up. Get out and do some labor in the yard.” This causes me at home to engage in the ritual of yelling at the radio/television. Labor day is not a day set aside to labor, or work on things, it is a day that recognizes the importance of Labor Unions. You know, those things that people fought and died for the right to organize to improve working conditions. The things that only seven percent of Americans belong to anymore. The people who brought you the weekend. So next time you hear someone misunderstand the purpose of Labor Day, please take a moment to enlighten them. Labor Day: They mean the Union kind. Not just general work in the yard.
If you enjoyed this post, you can look forward to my educational Memorial Day post in May.
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I did actually know this! And as a member of a union and supporter of unions – I wish everyone else did as well. Unions are dying and it makes me terribly sad. -S