Happy Labor Day!

August 28, 2025

Labor Day honors and recognizes the American labor movement and celebrates the social and economic achievements of American workers. As the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) website expresses it, “American labor has raised the nation’s standard of living and contributed to the greatest production the world has ever known and the labor movement has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pays tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership – the American worker.” NCTR joins in celebrating America’s workers, particularly public employees – many of whom do not have this day off as they work to protect American’s safety and well-being – but especially America’s teachers and education support professionals! Teachers touch lives forever, and the nation is a better place for that!

Victor Lana – a writer, culture & society editor, and Flash Fiction editor at Blogcritics, who has taught in elementary school, high school, and college and has been a school administrator – wrote a post in 2019 entitled “Labor Day – Teachers’ Work Is a Labor of Love.” In it, he said that “[t]here are many difficult jobs, and we should honor all those people who do them every day; however, there is one job where the lives of others can be influenced for the better now and in the future – teaching!” [Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion, founded in 2002, featuring more than 100 original articles every week, and is an accredited news source for both Google News and Yahoo! News.]

Lana also says that the really good teachers “know the heft of responsibility that has been heaved onto their shoulders, but instead of flinching they stand tall and rise to the occasion.” That is one of the reasons why the DOL has honored teachers as well as educational support professionals and other essential workers, both in the public as well as the private sector, during the Coronavirus pandemic by inducting “The Essential Workers of the Coronavirus Pandemic” into the Department of Labor’s “Hall of Honor” in recognition of their sacrifices and continuous efforts to support America’s communities through the pandemic. [The Hall was established in 1988 to honor those Americans whose distinctive contributions in the field of labor have elevated working conditions, wages, and overall quality of life of America’s working families.]

As the DOL notes, during the coronavirus pandemic, our nation’s essential workers “redefined what it truly means to show up for your neighbor,” pointing out that when everyone else was encouraged to stay at home to be safe, “essential workers did not have that option,” and these workers gave the nation a new understanding of and appreciation for the vital jobs they do and the services they provide us every single day.”

DOL went on to point out that the essential workers who make our economy function — “from care workers to farmworkers, nurses to grocery store clerks, childcare workers to teachers, port truck drivers and warehouse workers and so many more who make life possible for the rest of us” — are also disproportionately low paid workers, disproportionately women, and disproportionately workers of color.

Among them are educational support professionals (ESPs). “ESPs are the bus drivers who get our students to school safely. They are the custodians who keep our school buildings and grounds clean, the cafeteria workers who ensure our school communities are fed, the paraeducators who meet the needs of our most vulnerable students, and so much more,” the National Education Association (NEA) explains.

During the pandemic, these ESPs mobilized all across the country to help keep public education strong: tech professionals helped everyone move to online learning environments; cafeteria workers made sure students and their families received nutritious meals; bus drivers delivered learning materials to students; and paraeducators and library media clerks joined teachers in their virtual classes to ensure students had what they needed to learn, the NEA underscores. NEA President Becky Pringle has said ESPs “are the glue that holds together our public schools and communities.”

Therefore, as the office of the Tuolumne County, California, Superintendent of Schools reminds us, Labor Day is a great time to reflect on the important role of labor in education. For example, they remind us that the origins of Labor Day go back to the late 19th century, when the American labor movement was fighting for workers’ rights, including better conditions for educators. Here are some interesting facts about labor in education that they point out:

The First Teachers’ Union. The first teachers’ union in the United States, the Chicago Teachers Federation, was established in 1897. “This organization was crucial in advocating for better pay, reasonable working hours, and improved teacher conditions, and it paved the way for many educators’ rights today,” the Superintendent’s office notes.
Teachers and Labor Laws. Educators have been at the forefront of labor rights. “The movement toward an eight-hour workday and the five-day workweek was part of broader labor struggles in the United States, significantly influenced by key moments in history, such as the nationwide strikes in 1886 and the adoption of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938,” the office underscores, explaining that these efforts, supported by various labor unions, including those involving educators, “were crucial in establishing the working conditions we know today.”
Labor Day and Education: The first Labor Day parade in 1882 was attended by over 20,000 workers, many of whom were educators. This day set the stage for future educational reforms that improved working conditions for teachers and staff across the country.

Therefore, as the nation celebrates Labor Day, NCTR honors the educators and school staff who work tirelessly to provide quality education for our nation’s students.

So, “Happy Labor Day!” As Victor Lana concludes in his blog post, noted above, “You should be aware that while you may be enjoying a last barbecue, going to the beach, or swimming in a pool, teachers are getting ready and preparing for the first week of school. The most important thing to remember is why they do this – it’s a labor of love!”

And remember, Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”