Labor Day: What it means

First of all, Happy Labor Day to everyone.  I hope everyone enjoys this day off (obviously I'm not taking heed to my own advice).  Now, how did Labor Day come to be?  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."  

In contemporary times, those from "rude nature" would include the garbage collectors, the construction workers and the farm workers who endure long hours, little benefits and do back-breaking work so we can behold some grandeur.  We should also reflect on the civil rights leaders who worked tirelessly to improve the conditions of these workers so they too might behold some grandeur.  Today, I will be thinking of Cesar Chavez, who made great personal sacrifices to improve the plight of farm workers across the United States.  I had the pleasure of meeting Chavez's granddaughter Julie Chavez Rodriguez this past year in Albuquerque.  Through her work with the Cesar Chavez Foundation, Chavez's legacy of maximizing human potential, improving communities and service reverberate through school halls and communities throughout our country.  

I will also be thinking of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the work he did with the garbage workers of the south just prior to his death.  Aside from improving the economic and social conditions of the marginalized in our society, Dr. King's message of SERVICE to each other; to our communities; and to those in our global community resonates as loud as ever.  His definition of greatness reads as follows:  "If you want to be important wonderful.  If you want to be recognized, wonderful.  If you want to be great wonderful.  But recognize that he that is greatest among you shall be your servant."  

So, in that spirit, we honor those who "carve all the grandeur we behold," and also honor those who believed grandeur is achieved by being a servant to the community.