The Power of the Collective

As we head into the holiday weekend we hope you will take time to reflect on the meaning and history of Labor Day, and why its importance is heightened at a time when we are seeing a resurgence of widespread collective action aimed at combating staggering wage and wealth inequality and injustice.

Labor Day was established as a national holiday in 1894 at the behest of labor activists who pushed for a federal holiday to honor and recognize the American Labor Movement and the many contributions of the worker. Over time it seems that the conventional meaning of the holiday has been hollowed out to the extent that the general population more so observes the day as a marker for the changing of the seasons, and in this age of consumerism, “Labor Day Sales” dominate the weekend.

Shamefully, many of the workers that the COVID-19 pandemic uplifted as essential — the service industry, health-care workers, domestic workers, and farmworkers — do not get Labor Day off. The irony is brutal.