Columnists
Take a load off
Summer. Almost as soon as it started, it was done and here we are in the midst of the Labour Day weekend—inundated with back-to-school activities, events and advertisements. Of course, there’s still about three weeks until the official start of Autumn, but now we’re into the cool-down section of the summer season. September is a month that doesn’t really get much respect. Even though we know better, we ask ourselves, “Is it a summer month? Is it an autumn month?” Our heads just don’t know which way to turn with it. September is like a little voice telling us to clean the eavestroughs and borrow a long ladder to clear the downspouts. It’s the same, annoying voice urging us to hose-off the lawn chairs and put them away. It’s the whisper about getting the rakes and the leaf bags out.
September! This year I’ve got a new approach to the ninth month. Of course, I no longer stress about back-to-school. And I don’t worry about packing lunches that may or may not be eaten. I don’t have a care about permission slips and assignment due dates. I don’t have to drag the kids to the mall at the last moment lest they outgrow their new clothes before they get to class. None of that stuff. With LOML, we’ve had those days. September means we can to go to the beach, any beach, for quiet walk or a picnic and not have to wait in a hot car, in line-up at the gate. September is the right time to walk on the trails or cycle someplace for a quiet cup of coffee. September is when the folks of the County can walk across a street without wishing we’d been born on the other side. There seems to be more room in the aisles at the grocery store and more stock on the shelves. LOML and I look forward to having the family over for a bonfire and a glass of wine or a beer without all of the summer hum and drone in the background.
But, in the back of my mind, I haven’t forgotten what Labour Day is really about. Before LOML and I moved here, I didn’t “get” Labour Day. As far as I was concerned it was a day off for people who had to go to work. I figured people like my parents and my grandparents worked long hours, needed a break and so it happened. But it was here, in the early 1970s, I learned what was fair and what wasn’t in the labour force. It was here I learned about the contribution of organized labour to Canadian society. And, it was here, in the late 1990s and the early part of the 2000s, I first worked for an employer that could not have cared less about the working conditions, unfair compensation, abuse of authority and long hours of some of their employees. As I relax and enjoy the last day of “summer”, I haven’t forgotten what Labour Day is about and I am grateful to all of the people who worked hard for shorter work weeks, bargaining rights, human rights, Employment Insurance, workplace safety and fair compensation for work done. I am grateful for all of the experiences I’ve had as a workforce participant, even the experiences which weren’t great.
“As we celebrate Labour Day, we honour the men and women who fought tirelessly for workers’ rights, which are so critical to our strong and successful labour force.” Elizabeth Esty, US Representative.
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