the #newschool: honoring some real #heroes

Monday, September 4 is Labor Day, a national holiday meant to honor the working people who have built this country but who often go unappreciated. Born out of the labor movement’s effort to coordinate an immense general strike on the first Monday in September, this holiday has now come to mean little more than the unofficial end of summer.

However, Labor Day celebrations should not neglect to honor the men and women of the working classes, whose names don’t show up in history books or on monuments. This is their day, and just like we are encouraged to say thank-you to members of the armed forces on Veteran’s Day, it seems like a good idea to say thank-you on Labor Day to our nation’s laborers, the ones on the ground level keeping America running like it should: the maintenance workers, factory workers, farm hands, clericals, teachers, custodians, cleaning crews, truck drivers, and more. And if you don’t see these folks today while you’re off, say thank-you tomorrow when you’re back at it.

Happy Labor Day weekend!

Filed under: family values, Social Justice Tagged: labor day, Pack Mule for the New School, The New School, working-class