Every day should be Labor Day

After President Grover Cleveland signed legislation on June 28, 1894, making it a federal holiday, we have celebrated America’s workers on the first Monday in September. I know it’s nowhere near September yet, but I think every day should be Labor Day.

I have great respect for entrepreneurs, company owners and executives, etc. Without them, where would workers work? But the very special place in my heart is with the men and women who get up every day and put in an honest day of hard work.

My first summer job after high school was making molten brass and aluminum castings at Brisk Foundry in Imlay City. Hard…and hot…work. The factory was dirty and very, very warm, sometimes triple digits. It was good training, but I was able to leave at the end of summer. Many of my colleagues worked there every day for years. Hats off to them. I think of them still today. They earned their living.

America was built on the backs of men and women, many of them immigrants, my family among them, who worked on a factory floor making or building something. I can’t say enough good things about them.

But I want to pay special tribute to those folks who work outdoors every day.

It has been especially cold in the Washington, D.C. area this winter. For nearly 20 days, temperatures rarely rose above freezing, while wind chills repeatedly flirted with zero. Creeks, ponds and even larger waterways froze to extents not seen in many years.

Summers in this area can be brutal, too, with temps and humidity over 90 for several months.

Recently, I saw a road crew making some repairs to a local street and a woman was holding a “Slow/Stop” sign, directing traffic. She had more layers of clothes on than Neil Armstrong did walking on the moon. But she still looked frozen. I waved to her to say thanks for her noble efforts. Whatever they were paying her was not enough in my opinion.

The next morning, just after 6 a.m., the Republic Services trash pickup truck made its sweep around my cul-de-sac. There were about 10-15 containers out that day. Two guys jumped off the back of the truck and lifted each container by hand, over their heads and dumped the contents into the back of the truck. They would do this for an eight-hour day, hundreds of containers.

How many times have we lost power because of a storm or other causes? While we’re grumbling about the inconvenience at home, somebody goes out, often in the bad weather, and does their best to restore the power as soon as possible.

There are, of course, hundreds of other outdoor jobs like farmers, mail delivery, construction, landscaping, etc. But you get the idea. Every one of these jobs is important and needs doing. So, hats off to all the workers of America.

Next time you see one, smile, wave and say thanks. Maybe you could even give them a gift certificate as a reward and special thanks. Yes, let’s be grateful and make every day Labor Day!

Contact Rick at tct@pageone-inc.com