Dear friends and neighbors,

Labor Day is an opportunity for many Americans to take a day off from work, relax, recharge the batteries and spend quality time with family, neighbors and friends.

It's also a time to pause and appreciate the sacrifices that labor activists of the past made to create a healthy balance between industrial and commercial productivity and worker safety and well-being.

Each Labor Day, I recall my dad coming home from the lead mines, and my mom working piecemeal at the dress factory, and I give silent thanks for the protections and rights the labor movement gave us.

That activism carries on as the passionate and hard-working people of today's labor movement continue to advocate for employees throughout the public and private sectors, doing whatever they can to ensure that people are treated fairly and with honesty and decency in the workplace.

I am proud to call myself a friend to those who push for equal pay for women, a livable wage for all, family leave, and a fair process when grievances are filed. I am eternally grateful for their efforts.

Today, please raise a glass of your favorite cold beverage to the workers who built this great country, to the workers who keep our economy running strong and to the people who have had workers' backs throughout our national history.

Happy Labor Day to all!

Toni Atkins Senator, 39th District