Labor Day 2025: A Worker’s Reflection

Today is Labor Day in America. For many, it is a holiday marked by marathons, barbecues, and a long weekend. But for people in my line of work, it is not truly a holiday, we are still on the job. As I woke up this morning and prepared for work, I found myself reflecting on the meaning of this day: the role of the worker and the dignity that society grants, or often withholds, from us.

We saw much of this during the COVID-19 pandemic all the exposed truths of how workers are viewed and valued. It is fitting that a federal holiday exists to celebrate labor, but a part of me questions the sincerity behind it. One might ask: what can be done to truly honor and respect the worker?

Karl Marx, the father of Marxism and communism, once wrote, “Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains.” Though he has been gone for more than a century, his words still echo in our time. More than a billion people still live under systems directly shaped by his philosophy, a reminder that the struggles of the working class are universal and enduring. 

That vision has never materialized. Top-down management of employee behavior has always prevailed. Whenever something is bargained for, some low-level employees inevitably find their way to management,seeking favors while betraying their comrades in the process.

Look around the workplace: a few remain committed, yet they show up without being fully present. Many of those who are present resent being there. Any small matter sparks anger. With such division, true unity seems impossible. Disunity, therefore, becomes the natural order of things.

Yet if workers could truly unite, they could win much in their favor. At the very least, the ruling elites would learn not to take employees for granted. So, do great work, and above all, remain human.

Even before COVID, many of us felt the weight of exploitation placed upon us by employers. When the pandemic struck, society suddenly labeled us “essential workers.” Yet how ironic it was: many of us labored through the crisis, some contracted the virus, and too many lost their lives.

Then came the politics of the pandemic  the rushed vaccines, the mandates, the pressure. Workers were told: take this, or lose your livelihood. Many complied under duress. Some resisted and were swiftly terminated. That episode revealed in stark clarity how the ruling class sees the working class: not as partners in a social contract, but as tools to be used and discarded.

For generations, workers believed there was a deal: we would work, pay our taxes, and in return, the system would protect us from threats both foreign and domestic. But when COVID struck, that contract collapsed. Instead of protection, many of us faced coercion, job loss, and abandonment for daring to ask questions.

And so, on this Labor Day 2025, I cannot help but conclude: the worker is never truly loved. The worker is exploited, overlooked, and too often abused. That, my friends, is the truth as I see it. Feel free to disagree and drop me a comment. 

-Pal Ron-