EDITORIAL - The emptiness of Labor Day

Today is Labor Day. But it is more in name only. Labor Days of the past were what they were intended to be — to give honor and recognition to the working man and highlight his contributions to the important task of nation building. Not anymore today.

Somewhere along the way, the intention got hijacked by those who sought to gain for themselves the honor and recognition that was due the working man. Labor Day, as we know it today, has become politicized.

And it is easy to see why. It probably had its beginnings when those with the capacity to “visibly” give honor and recognition started giving “honor and recognition” in the form of money.

The money, of course, did not come in the form of cash but by way of wage increases, which of course translates eventually into cash. Regardless, the monetization of honor and recognition led to their devaluation, as what happens when you put a price tag on values.

Wage increases should have been left to the discretion of employers, whether public or private, based on the merits, and given in their own opportune time. When they started using Labor Day to give wage increases, it did not take long for it to become an undeserved habit.

Giving wage increases on Labor Day, when they could have been given anytime based on merits, served to cheapen labor, allowing workers to earn a windfall many probably do not deserve.

In a system where wage increases are given on merit, workers know exactly where they stand and know what to expect. But giving wage increases across the board on Labor Day drove workers to the bad habit of habitual expectation.

And when expectations fail, as when no increases are given, the workers go home dejected, even angry. They feel they have been unappreciated or even betrayed. And all because the value of hard and honest labor has been equated with money.

Because of that, any celebration of Labor Day without the money is considered empty. Thus it became so easy for other bad habits like politics to step into that void. After all, from the money, politics could not be too far behind.