Remember the reason for holiday

Labor Day.

Some call it the unofficial end of summer, the last day to barbecue with friends and family. Fashionistas say "Don't wear white after Labor Day." It's a long weekend to spend in the mountains, camping or picnicking. It's the final weekend to enjoy a cool dip in most public swimming pools. It's football and hot dogs and hot weather and cool nights.

But really: What is Labor Day?

Labor Day was created in 1894 by President Grover Cleveland in a political attempt to squelch the unrest of America's work force, which was beginning to organize and fight for better working conditions and treatment of employees.

The movement for a national Labor Day had been growing for some time. In September 1892, union workers in New York City took an unpaid day off and marched around Union Square in support of the holiday. Threats of strikes, the rising power of unions and the demand for shorter workdays and better wages were filling newspaper headlines. Labor Day was meant to appease the blue-collar majority. To the workers, it meant something more.

In 1898, Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labor, called it "the day for which the toilers in past centuries looked forward, when their rights and their wrongs would be discussed ... that the workers of our day may not only lay down their tools of labor for a holiday, but upon which they may touch shoulders in marching phalanx and feel the stronger for it."

Eventually, working conditions did improve, minimum wages were set, maximum working hours were enforced, and unions and workers gained other benefits, such as paid vacations and sick leave, health insurance and five-day workweeks.

It's difficult for many of us to comprehend the horrendous conditions many of our great-grandparents toiled under in this country. To be recognized, to have a day that honored that hard work, was truly an accomplishment.

Most of us take our wages, our benefits, our work hours for granted. It's now what's expected, what is normal. And Labor Day, well, that's a great day for a barbecue.

But there are still workers in this country who can't survive on their minimum-wage paycheck. There are workers who toil in fields under tremendous heat, picking the food that we thoughtlessly purchase in our huge grocery stores. Even today, a holiday for the laborers, there are nurses starting IVs, policemen patrolling our streets, waitresses balancing plates in their hands and on their arms, janitors cleaning toilets and clerks ringing up a customer's purchases.

America simply could not survive without it's work force. No matter what your profession, no matter what your job, you're part of the giant cog that keeps our economy, our country, from collapsing. We should all take pride in the work we do every day, whether it be running a multimillion dollar corporation or cleaning up trash in parks. Every job is important, every task should be noticed.

Happy Labor Day.

Here are some alternative ways to spend Labor Day

«"Labor of Love" Community Clean Up, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., the University of Northern Colorado Campus. Students and community members are joining to clean up areas around the campus. To attend, meet at the Upper North Side of the University Center, 20th Street and 10th Avenue. Trash bags will be provided.

«The 2nd Annual Building Healthy Marriages 5K Fun Run or Walk, the Greeley Family FunPlex, 1501 Leisure Lane. This event is free. Registration on the day of the event will begin at 7 a.m. Same-day registration will end at 7:45 a.m. The event is open to all, so bring your family and enjoy the morning.