Labor Day wishes from Dr. Versman and Dr. Heller at Periodontal Associates in Aurora, CO

Labor Day Trivia from Periodontal Associates

Labor Day. For most of us, this holiday marks the end of summer. It’s a last hurrah, a last chance to have friends and family over to fire up the barbecue, chill at the pool and just enjoy the care-free attitude that comes with the beautiful summer sunshine here in Denver.

We know that Kathy (here with Dr. Heller), our winner of the Dog Days of Summer contest, will be enjoying her new prize and celebrating her win.

But what will you be doing this holiday weekend?

Other than serving as the unofficial end of summer, what else do we know about Labor Day? Periodontal Associates would like to share some facts about the holiday’s history and labor in general. Rattle these bad boys off this weekend and you are sure to impress your fellow grill meisters.

• Labor Day is the first Monday in September and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. The Department of Labor calls it a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

• The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882.
• The day of the holiday was changed to the first Monday in September in 1884. Congress passed an act officially making the first Monday in September a legal holiday on June 28, 1894.
• For many decades, Labor Day was seen as a day for workers to voice their complaints and discuss better working conditions and pay.
• In 2009, 155.1 million people were in the nation’s labor force.
• Approximately 7.2 million people identify their occupation as a teacher. Comparatively, 1.7 million are chief executives, 751,000 are farmers and ranchers and 773,000 are hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists.
• There are 15.7 million labor union members in the United States, which is about 12 percent of wage and salary workers. Alaska, Hawaii and New York have some of the highest rates of the states. North Carolina has one of the lowest.
• About 3.4 million workers have an at least 90-minute commute to work each day. Aren't we lucky to have such relatively easy commutes in Denver!
• The origin of the word labor is from the Anglo-French word labur and the Latin word labor. It was first used in the 14th century.
• Roughly 7.7 million people have two jobs. Of those people, 288,000 work two full-time jobs.
• There are about 5.7 million people who report they work from home.
• About 28 percent of workers 16 or older work more than 40 hours a week. Meanwhile, 8 percent of workers work more than 60 hours a week.
• And in other labor news: For a first-time mom, the average time span for labor is 16 hours. After the first baby, mothers can expect to be in labor for an average of 7 to 8 hours for following pregnancies.

 

So spend this Labor Day celebrating the holiday the way it was intended to be—sit back, relax and pat yourself on the back for all the hard work you do. -- Drs. Versman and Heller - Periodontal Associates - The Dental Implant Team