As we prepare to celebrate Labor Day on Monday, September 5th, All Medical Personnel would like to salute the invaluable contributions of healthcare workers to our nation. Every day, physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, allied health clinicians, office managers and other healthcare professionals are helping patients and clients address their personal issues and improve their quality of life.
Our nation has changed dramatically since the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on September 5, 1882, in New York City. In the next 12 years, approximately half the states adopted Labor Day in honor of their workers, and in 1894, Congress passed an act designating the first Monday in September as a legal holiday.
At that time, the nation’s industrial workforce consisted almost exclusively of men, who worked in physically demanding environments, such as farms, factories, mills, mines, railroads and merchant ships. Gaining an extra day in September to relax or spend time with the family was a highly valued benefit.
Today, the U.S. economy is largely based on the delivery of services and the flow of information, rather than the production of manufactured products. Women are now key contributors to the nation’s workforce – particularly in the healthcare sector. There are also far more career opportunities for minorities today than there were during the 1880s, although racism and discrimination remain serious social issues.
Reflecting on the evolution of Labor Day through the years, our team at All Medical Personnel would like to recognize the millions of men and women in our nation’s healthcare sector. As the U.S. Department of Labor says, “The vital force of labor has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership – the American worker.”
