laboring on Labor Day

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Here in the United States, it's Labor Day -- a holiday dedicated to celebrating all the hard work that has gone before. A time to rest, kick back, eat hot dogs or veg out in front of the TV. A day of no work as a way of honoring work.

The local paper celebrated Labor Day on page 1 with a Chicago Tribune story about workers who did not take vacations or breaks during hard economic times.

Many companies have been trying to do more with less since the recession, and with unemployment stuck around 8.6 percent, some employees feel pressure to skip taking all their time off ....

"You're on call 24/7 and these days, you'd better step up or step out. It's not just me — it's upper management. ... It's everybody," Waltz said.

The Chicago Tribune story requires a free sign-up in order to link it. And of course if someone says "free," grab your wallet or watch you email box fill up with unwanted ads. Bleah. Anyway, the story is here:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-no-vacation-20120903,0,6718017.story

And, as if you didn't know it, a new study for which someone actually paid good money, finds that jobs lost during the 2008 crash were largely middle-income positions and that jobs being added to the U.S. 'recovery' are largely low-paying posts.

Maybe someone will pay me to tell them that the sky is blue.
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