Labor Day is a holiday commonly celebrated the first weekend of September in the United States and Canada and in May in other parts of the world.

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It is a holiday meant to celebrate the working class and their dedication to their profession. Labor Day is a holiday that has been around since the 1800s to celebrate the fact that the lower class gained the right to have fair working conditions, hours and opportunity to advance in their jobs.

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Before Labor Day, working was like legal slavery because conditions were horrible and employees faced the possibility of termination by speaking up to their employers. The movement forced industries a way of straying from looking at things in solely a profit standpoint and required them to take action regarding employees health and future at the companies they worked at.

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Alina Sharkey, a Communications major stated her opinions on Labor Day. She said,  “Labor Day is a holiday that values all the workers in America and it’s important to me and should be to everyone as most of us work or plan to work in the United States. It sort of recognizes our hard work with a nice day off.”

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Gregory Ionadi, a Mechanical Engineering Technology major, had a different view on Labor Day. He said, “Labor Day to me is about no classes and beer.”

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Emily Lorenzo, a Kinesiology major, enjoys her day off with family. She said, “Labor Day is a day to appreciate the hardworking Americans of all classes, and I typically celebrate it with my family while barbequing.”

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The real meaning behind Labor Day is special, and it is meant to be an important holiday because without all the struggles that occurred in order to have a Labor Day, working as it is today would not be the same.  Normally, this holiday is seen as an extra day off to most people but if everyone knew what the story behind the holiday was, maybe less people would take it in vain.