Celebrating working Warhawks and our future workforce this Labor Day

For many of us, Labor Day means a three-day weekend, the unofficial end of summer, and the beginning of another school year. But the holiday has a much deeper connection to something that affects nearly all of us: work. Labor Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the first Monday of September. It grew out of the American labor movement in the late nineteenth century, as workers pushed for recognition of their contributions and for better working conditions. Many other countries around the world also celebrate Labor Day or similar holidays on different dates to recognize workers and their contributions to society. As an economist—and especially as someone who studies and teaches labor economics- I will discuss labor and how Warhawks contribute to the world. We spend nearly half our waking hours at work, contributing our time, effort, knowledge, and skills to produce the goods and services we use every day. Think about how much labor you encounter before you even arrive at your first class. Someone grew and transported the food you ate for breakfast. Someone stocked the grocery store shelves. Someone maintained the roads you drove on. Professors prepared your classes, university staff kept the campus running, and countless workers produced everything from your laptop to the coffee you brought to class. A lot of people worked to get us started. That's the power of labor—and of the people behind it. Students are an important part of the labor force. Many UW-Whitewater students work part-time or during the summer while pursuing their studies. You may be serving food, working in retail, helping customers, working on campus, completing an internship, caring for children, or working in a job directly related to your future career. Nearly 2,500 students work on campus alone during the semester, balancing work and college every day. Students also contribute in another important way. College itself is an investment in what economists call human capital. Every class you take, skill you develop, internship you complete, and problem you learn to solve adds to the knowledge and abilities you will eventually bring to the labor market and use to contribute to the world. In short. Warhawks are working today, building skills for tomorrow, and contributing to the future of our economy. In economics, we often talk about labor in numbers—wages, hours worked, employment, unemployment, and productivity. But behind every number is a person making real-life decisions. Should I work another shift or spend that time studying? Is this job worth the commute? Should I take a lower-paying job that gives me better experience? How do parents balance work and childcare? Why do people with similar education earn different wages? These are economic questions, but they are also human questions. That's what I find fascinating about labor economics. At the end of the day, the labor market is about people—their choices, opportunities, families, skills, and goals. As we enjoy the long weekend and say goodbye to summer, Labor Day is a good time to recognize the work happening all around us—and our own contributions as well. To all the UW-Whitewater students who are studying, working, building skills, caring for others, and figuring out what comes next: your work and contributions matter, and you matter to this world. Happy Labor Day, Warhawks!