Editorial: Celebrating Americans’ labor

Monday, Sept. 4, 2006 | 7:44 a.m.

As we celebrate the nation's 124th official Labor Day, it is a good idea to remember that this holiday did not originate as a marketing tool for back-to-school and summer clearance sales.

The holiday was advocated by the labor movement to mark the accomplishments of the American worker. Unemployment, a key barometer of an economy's health, is relatively low this year. And a recently released U.S. Census Bureau report says that the annual household income rose slightly - by 1.1 percent - in 2005.

But, as we mentioned in an editorial on Friday, these numbers that the Bush administration likes to tout don't tell the whole story, and they in fact reveal that the income gain comes from more working people in each household or those holding down more than one job.

Those new jobs aren't paying as well as they used to, either. Census figures show that earnings fell for full-time workers. After compensating for inflation earnings, men's wages in 2005 were lower than they were in 1973. Such figures can put the damper on a Labor Day picnic faster than an unexpected cloudburst.

And all the while, these workers are losing health insurance. The percentage of people without job-related health insurance rose again last year and stands at nearly 16 percent - the highest since 1998.

The daily struggle to make ends meet by holding down a service job or two is known well in the Las Vegas Valley. Those who make their fortunes building billion-dollar resorts couldn't make it without those who make the beds, bus the tables, keep the slot machines in working order and deal the cards.

Fortunately for those who work in entry-level positions in hotel-casinos, they have been paid much better than their counterparts elsewhere in the nation. Still, the skyrocketing cost of housing has put the American Dream - home ownership - out of reach for many of these workers.

Economic health is more than just the bottom line for corporations. Today is a day to hope that working Americans will come to enjoy a greater share of our nation's prosperity.