In 1894, President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to break up a strike held by labor unions against a railroad company in Chicago. The strike resulted in 13 dead workers and a political crisis that sparked debate nationwide.
Cleveland responded to the mishap by taking measures to promote worker reconciliation – including the creation of a national holiday, Labor Day, in order to celebrate the invaluable American worker.
Labor Day is observed today as a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness that makes the American labor system so successful, a salute to the proverbial “little man.” It is a national holiday, and most businesses shut their doors for the day. Count ACU among those who fail to observe the day.
Abilene Independent School District will be closed on Sept. 6 for Labor Day, as will Wylie ISD. City and state agencies will close for the day. The University of Texas, Texas Tech University and Baylor University are among the universities who recognize the holiday; but ACU classes will be in session, and all offices will be open.
The university should recognize the Labor Day holiday, not for its students, but for its faculty and staff. Students have fall and spring breaks set aside as hiatuses from their work, but no such day exists to honor those who make ACU a world-class institution.
The university’s failure to observe Labor Day is not only senseless, but is borderline disrespectful. It disrespects the teachers who educate the students, and the staff who is the heartbeat of ACU.
Arguing that classes have just started, making a holiday pointless, is refutable as the university observes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an equally important holiday celebrated in the second week of spring classes.
Additionally, the idea is absurd that if students are given a three-day weekend the first week of classes, they may not return. If a three-day weekend convinces a student they should stay home, college probably isn’t right for them in the first place. But Labor Day should not even be about the students.
President Ronald Reagan delivered a message on Labor Day in 1984, explaining the importance of the holiday.
“Today, we pay tribute to America’s working men and women, and I join with all Americans in celebrating the dignity and productivity of our working people. Labor Day brings a fitting opportunity to salute those who built our great nation and whose spirit, hard work and courage are now building a new era of lasting economic expansion filled with greater opportunities for all our people.”
It’s time for ACU to pay tribute to its workers: the men and women who make it great.
