On this Labor Day in the midst of a pandemic, our front-line and essential workers are the heroes

Chicago Tribune (IL)

Americans often take Labor Day for granted. It is one of those ambiguous holidays that we know has something to do with workers but in modern times has come to symbolize the end of summer.

We use the holiday as a marker for moving from one season to the next, often regrettably. By the time the first Monday in September arrives, it is too late to take that great summer vacation we’ve dreamed about or surprise the kids with a trip to Disney World.

Labor Day puts us on notice that it is time to get back into the mindset required for nine months of school and work ahead. In other words, it signals the return to normal.

But not this year. COVID-19 destroyed our sense of normalcy. The pandemic stole our summer and much of our spring. The lockdowns and restrictions caused our days to flow one into the other with no real sense of distinction.

Though summer does not officially end until Sept. 22, Labor Day reminds us that winter is on the horizon. And COVID-19 threatens to hit us just as hard or worse than before.

We tried to make the best of summer with the few opportunities we had, but there is little about it to cherish. There will be fewer backyard cookouts on Monday, and parades and festivals are canceled.

Businesses, crippled by the shutdown and again by looting, are cautiously creeping toward reopening. But thousands of jobs remain in jeopardy. Many are gone for good. The American workplace is unstable and high unemployment has left families at risk.

So this year we should return to observing the holiday’s original purpose -- recognizing the American worker. We can start with those who toiled under the most difficult circumstances to help us through the pandemic, often with low wages and little time off.

Our front-line and essential workers are the heroes of this crisis. These unselfish doctors, nurses and other health care workers, grocery store clerks, public transit workers, mail carriers, grocery, meal and package deliverers deserve to be honored Monday.

Even if we just take a moment to say thank you when we’re at the grocery store checkout, it would be a thoughtful acknowledgment.

Of course, these modern-day employees were not the intended beneficiaries of Labor Day when it became an official federal holiday in 1894. It recognized the factory employees, miners, railroad workers who were the essential workers in America’s Industrial Revolution.

It was one of the many ugly periods of our nation’s history, but industrialization also helped America thrive.

In the 18th century, workers had no rights and they were often abused. The average unskilled American worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week just to earn a decent living. It was commonplace to see children as young or 4 or 5 toiling away in the textile mills. Employers actually preferred children because they were easier to manage, and they could pay them very little and in many cases, no wages at all.

The period gave rise to unions and thankfully, those days are behind us. But when it comes to providing decent wages for many of the people who keep our country up and running in times of crisis, America still lags behind.

Many of the essential workers during the pandemic earn minimum wage, which in some states isn’t enough to keep them out of poverty. That is shameful in a country as prosperous as ours.

Still, over the past few months, these workers rose to the occasion. We could not have filled our pantries without the people who worked overnight stocking grocery store aisles so that when we arrived in the morning, there would be an array of fresh vegetables from which to choose.

For the elderly and those with chronic illnesses who could not risk leaving home, grocery shoppers did all the work, sorting through piles of tomatoes or bananas to choose the perfect ones just as we would have done ourselves. When items were out of stock, they texted photos of possible substitutions and allowed us to choose.

Doctors, nurses and aides left their families behind to attend to the sick in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes, even when there were insufficient masks, gowns, gloves and other protective gear to shield them from the virus.

As the COVID-19 numbers spiked, they worked around the clock. Some stayed in hotels so as not to expose vulnerable relatives at home. Many of them got sick. Some of them died.

Many essential workers depend on public transportation. So bus drivers, train conductors, taxi drivers and ride-share drivers donned their masks and took them wherever they needed to go.

Through it all, mail carriers delivered our letters every day. Amazon, UPS and FedEx brought the packages we ordered online and left them at our door.

Because of these workers, life was a little bit easier for the rest of us during the pandemic. We were able to stay healthy because they put their own health at risk. We can’t forget their sacrifices.

It is easy to get testy these days, given the strain of the pandemic. We sometimes forget that we owe so much to these workers who often go unnoticed. Sometimes we’re rude.

I have a confession. At the grocery store one day, I snapped at a clerk who summoned me from a long checkout line with a cashier to the self-checkout station. I followed her, thinking she was going to open a new register. But she left me on my own.

Fearing exposure to the virus by touching keypads and other surfaces, I told her that she should have allowed me to stay where I was. She explained that she was just trying to be helpful and move the line along. I wasn’t rude, but I wasn’t kind either.

I plan to return to the store on Monday to look for her, though I’m sure she won’t remember me. But I will apologize anyway and thank her for her service.

This Labor Day shouldn’t be spent brooding over how awful life has been. It should be about letting people like her know that we never could have made it without them.

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Twitter @dahleeng

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